Just Won't Die 5
by OneShot
Summary: Ranma's world gets tested just like the EVA world. But this time around, the Angels are very different and very powerful. Without the help of Evangelions, Ranma and company must resort to other tactics to battling the Angels. Warning: Missing updates


Jeffrey "OneShot" Wong

Neon Genesis Evangelion\Bubblegum Crisis\Ranma 1\2: Just won't die 5

"I-I d-died?"  
Ranma and the others were gathered around the dining area table. He had finally come back home and had been welcomed with open arms as everyone embraced him and told him how much they had missed him just as he them. But within moments after his appearance, everyone noticed his wings and began to barrage him with questions. However, Ranma, remembering that the real version of himself, was curious to see himself face to face and refused to say anything until otherwise. When he asked what had happened to the other Ranma, they told him.  
Everyone was now silent.  
"H-how on Earth could I have died?" Ranma asked, feeling very disappointed and sad. He wanted answers. He had gone through so much. How could he have died? How? "I don't understand? I just got back from the other world, and the Second Impact was prevented. B-but how could I have died? When did I die?"  
It was Akane that broke the awkward silence. "Ranma, you, your otherself-"  
"No, my real self. I'm just a clone!" he spat, angry. He felt angry and wanted to throw something. He wanted to break something.  
"Y-you're a clone?" Ritsuko asked, her eyes widening.  
Ranma nodded, "Yes. I'm a clone of the real Ranma..." He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down as he slowly said, "On the other world, I found out that I was a clone. I was created from the blood that had been found on Antarctica,"  
"B-blood? Your blood?" Asuka asked.  
Ranma nodded.  
"You...no, Ranma was badly injured during his fight with Adam..." Asuka said. She couldn't believe she was saying this. Ever since Ranma had died as a result of her selfish need to prevent the Second Impact, she had told no one of what had happened, not wanting to recall the painful memories of seeing Ranma taking the blow that would prove fatal shortly after he defeated Adam.  
"How was I injured?"  
Asuka looked down at the table, "Y-you g-got hurt trying to save me..."  
"I-I did?"  
"Yes," Asuka said. She found herself near the brink of tears as everyone listened intently, all of them hearing this for the very first time since she had gotten back, "Y-you jumped in front of me w-when Adam shot that projectile toward me."  
"How come I couldn't survive it?" Ranma asked, making a fist. He was getting angry again. He could have survived. Why didn't he? "Was I weakened during the battle? I don't remember it. All I remember was that preemptive attack Adam made on us while we were on top of that tractor. That was where I got a bit hurt and even coughed up some blood. That blood was what I had been cloned from. I don't remember anything after that..."  
"Cloned? What do you mean by that?" Ritsuko asked, catching something Ranma had said.  
Asuka looked at Ranma and said, "A-Adam attacked again, while we were getting up off the ground. I-I didn't have enough time to get up off the ground and away that you...you jumped in front of me and pushed me out of the way, right before the blast hit you,"  
"Then how did the two of us managed to defeat Adam?"  
"You...you brushed that attack off like it was nothing," Asuka said softly, "And you shot one of your ki-blasts right at him. It destroyed him on impact. Although you brushed the blast off, the...the blast proved fatal,"  
"Did I die after that? Did I die on Antarctica then? What happened?"  
"No." Asuka said, "You didn't die. Y-you...why did you go on and do that, you idiot?" She stood up, tears falling from her eyes.  
"Do what?"  
"Why the fuck did you say you were all right?" Asuka spat, releasing all her emotions, all the emtions that she had kept bottle up all this time. "You pretended to weren't hurt! You pretended like you were all right! You acted like that blast didn't affect you when-" A tear fell from an eye. After a moment, she composed herself and shouted, "The blast broke your fucking ribs and punctured your goddamn heart! But you go on and pretend like you were all right! Why? Why the hell did you do that?"  
The was a vase with a flower in it that sat on the middle of the table. She picked it up and threw it at a wall, shattering the vase into pieces, the flower falling to the ground. "Your heart failed! You knew you were going to die! You knew! You told me you were all right and that I should go home and tell everyone we were back! I came back with everyone the next day and you were dead! You died that night we came back! You knew you were going to die and you didn't want me there when you died!"  
Ranma was dead silent. He regarded Asuka with sad eyes. She must have gone through so much, must have felt responsible for his death.  
Asuka continued to let out her pent up anger, anger at herself, "You said you were all right! You said everything was fine! Why did you go and die like that?" Asuka finally lost it as she broke down sobbing, tears flowing. She slumped down to the floor, her face in her hands, weeping uncontrollably.  
Akane and Misato and Ritsuko quickly rushed to her side and comforted her.  
"It's all right, Asuka," Misato said in a soothing voice, "Let it all out,"  
"It's prefectly all right to cry, Asuka," Akane said.  
Asuka said between sobs, forcing herself to look at him"Why Ranma? Why did you die?"  
Ranma looked at Asuka's sad eyes. Seeing her in such pain made him furious because he knew there was nothing he could do about it. How in the world could he make that pain go away? He knew the guilt she must be feeling. There was nothing he could do to remove that guilt...  
It took several moments before he said in a very truthful voice, "Because...because I wouldn't've wanted you there when I died."  
"Why?"  
"Because I didn't want to hurt you more," Ranma said, "I wouldn't want you to see me in pain. I wouldn't want you to know that I was hurt. I don't want you resenting yourself for my pain..."  
"You fucking died! And it was all my goodamn fault!" Asuka shouted.  
Ranma darted forward and grabbed Asuka's shoulders tightly, staring into her tearing blue eyes and said, "Don't you dare say something like that, Asuka! It is not your fault. I have no problem sacrificing myself to save someone else. If I had to, I would do it again, without a second thought. I would much rather die saving your life than to go on living knowing that I didn't try..."  
"How do you think that makes me feel, huh?" Asuka said, feeling a torent of emotions. Guilt. Anger. Saddness. "It was my fault that you were there in the first place! I was the one that wanted to go back! Why did you go back with me? You would have been alive if you hadn't gone with me!"  
"Don't feel guilty," Ranma said softly, "I went with you because I wanted to. It was my choice. I chose to go with you so I could protect you from any and everything."  
"And you seemed to have kept that end of the deal...but with you life," she said soflty, looking down, watching as the tears fell from her chin and onto the floor.  
"Then so be it," Ranma said, "At least I didn't die _not_ attempting to save your life. C'mon, you should know me by now. I have no problem sacrificing my life for others. On many occasions, I have done so, with every intention of dying in the process, and I will continue to do so unit...unitl I finally die...again," He tried to give a weak chuckle at the obvious attempt to lighten the mood up, but was a bit disappointed when no one seemed to laugh.  
Ranma took a deep breath. "Look," he said slowly, "When did I die?"  
"You...your other self died one year ago from tomorrow," Akane said, turning his attention from a still distraught Asuka and onto Ranma.  
"A year? A year has passed since then?" Ranma said, shocked. He couldn't believe the time that had elsaped. He had only been on the other world for about a little over a month, but somehow, a year had passed on this world.  
Shinji, silent until now, said, "Yes. But things have pretty much stayed the same,"  
Ranma looked at the children one by one, "You three have grown. You look more mature," When his eyes rested on Asuka, he smirked and decided now was the best time to change the mood, "Except for you, Asuka, your breasts are still small and you look like you're gonna get some premature gray hairs from all that useless guilt you've been carrying,"  
"W-w-what? What did you say?" Asuka said, her tears now gone, finding herself actually getting angry.  
"How can you say something like that?" Misato snapped at Ranma.  
"You're such an insensitive jerk, Ranma, for saying something like that!" Akane said, eyes narrowing, glowering at him.  
Ranma held his hands in front of himself defensively and took a tentative step back, away from the girls. "Hey, hold up. I-I was trying to lighten the mood. Don't take it personally,"

"I'm an Angel," Ranma said. An hour had passed since Ranma had found out about the death of his other self. It was now his turn to be asked some questions. "I'm a clone. Yes, you heard me right, Ritsuko on what I said earlier. I'm a clone."  
"Of the Ranma that died?" Misato said. Her head was already starting to hurt. She didn't want to even know how and where the hell he got those wings from.  
Ranma nodded, "Yeah. I cloned from the blood she, meaning Ritsuko of that world, had used along in making Unit-01,"  
"Hold up, I...I mean my other self, she made Unit-01 out of human blood?" Ritsuko asked.  
"No. Unit-01 was created from human blood and Liltih," Ranma said. "The EVA looked similar to the one on your world but it was very different,"  
"How so?" Misato asked.  
6 "It was incredibly powerful," Ranma said, "I think it was some kinda god. It had wings, and brushed off a6ttacks like it was nothing. Heck, it even took on Unit-00 and Unit-02 at the same time without breaking a sweat, figuratively speaking that is. I mean, Unit-01 doesn't sweat and all,"  
"We know what you mean," Ritsuko asked. She cleared her throat and said, "Unit-01, why was it fighting the other two EVAs in the first place?"  
"Well, it's a long story,"  
"We have time," Misato said with a smirk, "Plenty of it,"  
"Okay, I'll start from the beginning," Ranma said after a short moment, "On that world, the Second Impact never happened. I guess Asuka and my other self somehow succeeded. Well, even though it had been prevented, it was very similar to the ones you and the others come from. For instance, from what I was told, Unit-01 was derived from both human blood and an Angel's blood. The Angel's still attacked like back on your world, and in sequence. The difference was that Nerv was able to repel their attacks with ease. I guess it was because of Unit-01,"  
"Go on," Ritsuko said, giving Ranma her undivided attention.  
"Well, afrom what I was told, everything went perfectly fine until the forteenth Angel," Ranma continued, "Toji, Unit-01's pilot-"  
"Suzuhara was Unit-01's pilot? What about me?" Shinji asked.  
"You lived at home with you mother and sister," Ranma replied, "I'll tell you about that in a sec. Boy, do I have some things to tell you. Anyway, Toji somehow disappeared in the entry plug. Well, after a month or so, he finally materializes...and I was somehow materialized along with him,"  
"You came out of the EVA?" Rei asked.  
"Yep," he replied, "It seems that I existed inside that EVA ever since it had been created but was in there in the same form as when Toji had been when he was like that when he had been absorbed for about a month. If you're going to ask me what I think you're going to, then yes, I was born from an EVA. That's why I'm considered an Angel,"  
"This is deep," Shinji said.  
"That's not all," Ranma smirked, "There's much much more. Although I have no idea how it works, at least not yet, but, because I'm an Angel, I have the ability to generate some kinda AT field."  
"An AT f-field?" Ritsuko nearly shouted, getting up out of her seat, "You've got to joking, right?"  
"Wish I was, but I'm not," came the quick reply, "That leads to the part about my wings. You know how you told me about how Unit-01 somehow regerated that severed arm using those ribbon like arms that belonged on that Angel? Well, I did the same thing. I got these wings during my battle with the final Angel,"  
"Kaworu?" Shinji asked.  
"No, Saffron,"  
"Who's Saffron?" Misato asked,a bit confused.  
"He's someone I wouldn't wanna meet in a dark alley," Ranma chuckled a bit, "But then again, now that I'm an Angel and have an AT field at my disposel. Oh well, anyway, Saffron, the last Angel, was absolutely nothing like the last Angel on your world that you had told me about. Saffron made fighting every Angel look like walk in the park. He was one really really hard dude to beat"  
"H-how did you manage to beat him?" Akane asked after a moment.  
Ranma took a deep breath, "Um, I couldn't. He was just...well, waaaay too strong. I had Unit-01 eliminate him,"  
"'Had Unit-01 eliminate him'? What do you mean by that? You were Unit-  
01's pilot?" Asuka asked, silent until now. Ranma sighed, "God, this story is gonna be very long to explain. No, I wasn't Unit-01's pilot. It turns out that I was like a Kaworu Angel of that world. I was able to simply will Unit-01 to do what I wanted it to do, just like how I was told Kaworu did it,"  
"H-how did you end up with the ability to control Unit-01?" Ritsuko asked. Although she was able to follow everything so far, she found herself slowly starting to becom confused.  
"I have a question, do you know where the Kaworu of your world came from?"  
"No, we never found out. We know that Seele sent him though," Misato replied.  
"I found out. He was born from Unit-04, just like I was from Unit-01. I think that S2 organ had a major role in it," Ranma said, "Since no one like me showed up after Shinji had disappeared in the entry plug, you only had one Kaworu-type Angel to worry about. Another thing that seems highly probable is why the Kaworu Angel of your world acted the way he did while the Kaworu Angel of the one I just came from was the exact opposite. Asuka, remember when you were mind probed by that fifteenth Angel?"  
Asuka nodded.  
"Well, Kaworu's traits and personality made him that way because of that mind probe," Ramna said, "With me. I allowed myself to be mind probed and Saffron was the end product. Saffron knew all about me, and he even made me believe he was the real Saffron while, instead, he was the final Angel. Anyway, I was on that world for the final two Angel attacks and when Nerv was attacked by those white EVAs. I left immediately after that was resolved,"  
"You're leaving out huge gaps in the story, Ranma," Misato said, "How did you defeat that last two Angels? How did you ward of the attacks by the other EVA units? How was the world different from this one?"  
"One question at a time, Misato," Ranma said softly, "Okay, that mind probing Angel, I had Unit-01 use the Lance of Longinus use it to defeat it, just like how you told me about how Rei did it back on your world. With the final Angel, Saffron, I have no real idea. Unit-01 took care of him, but I'm not real too sure how. I'm just glad he's gone, even if he is just an imitation Saffron. And, when Nerv was attacked, Unit-01 was more than enough to fight them off,"  
"Saffron, that's the Angel that gave you the wings,"  
"Yes, the real Saffron had this special ability, along with lots of other, where he rips off his wings and throws them at you," Ranma said, "I simply egged him into doing that and turned those wings into my own. At first, I thought he was the real Saffron and had come to that world to kill me, so I didn't even think about it on exactly why it worked when I was able to make his wings my own. I was too busy trying to fight him,"  
"How are both worlds different?" Shinji asked. He was more curious about his other self.  
"They're a bit different," came the reply, "But not by much. The same sequence of events happened except the exact reason on why it occurs is different. For instance, your father worked on the Human Compliment Project was being worked on because Seele forced him into doing it,"  
"H-he did?" Shiji asked, shocked.  
"On that world, he was forced into doing that project because if he didn't, the entire city of Tokyo-"  
"Wouldn't it be Tokyo-3?" Misato interrupted.  
"No, the Second Impact never happened," Ranma said, a bit annoyed, "Tokyo was still above water. Anyway, Tokyo had seven N2 mines buried underneath it, and Seele would set them off unless he did otherwise. In a way, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place."  
"So what did my father do?" Shinji asked, very interested.  
"He told me about it and together, we came up with a plan," Ranma replied, "I pretended to be the final Angel and used Unit-01 to fight Unit-00 and Unit-02 to create some kinda smoke screen and disarmed the N2 mines. I was able to be the final Angel because on that world, Gendo had never reported about that computer virus Angel so no one knew that after Saffron, there were no more Angels. They were expecting one more. Well, we gave it to `em. Pretty cool, huh?"  
"Yes, it does," Shinji said. "Did you work together with my father for long? Was he like the one I knew?"  
Ranma smirked, "On that world, your dad ain't such a dick on, afterall. It seems it was your mom's death that changed him into the father that you know. He actually seemed to be a bit wishy washy at times,"  
"He ain't the only one," Misato joked wryly.  
"I heard that," Ranma said, before turning back to Shinji and contining on, "Also, speaking of your mother, I met her and got to know her. Ya wanna hear?"  
"Of course,"  
"Well, she's very caring person and really cares for you and your sister, Rei," Ranma said, "Yes, you have a sister. Heck, you would most likely have a sister if your mother wouldn't have died anyway, ne? Well, anyway, she seems to keep Gendo walking the straight and narrow. Man, it was so funny. You should have seen your dad's face when I told him and your mother about how from another world, he shot his son. Your mother looked like she was ready to...well, rip him a new asshole,"  
"Nice choice of words, Ranma," Misato commented wryly.  
Ranma ignored Misato's comment and said to Shinji, "Your mother was very caring of you and your little sister. It's too bad she died though. And, she's not like your father, she cares more about her family than her work. That's for sure. I rarely saw her at Nerv because she's usually home taking care of your sister or helping you with your homework or preparing dinner or something like that,"  
Shinji smiled a bit, "Yes, I would have liked her,"  
Ranma turned toward Ritsuko, "I also met your mom, Ritsuko. You want me to tell you about her?"  
Ritsuko shook her head after a short while, "Not really. She and I never really got along anyway."  
"Yeah, but that's your point of view of her," Ranma said, "You might like hearing what someone else thinks about aside from yourself"  
"Perhaps some other time," Ritsuko said.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Well, all right. I just wanna say that I got to know her because I was hoping you might ask about her, that's all." He then turned toward Asuka, "I met your other self on that world,"  
"You did?"  
"Yeah, she was every bit as annoying as you are..."  
And so, they spent the day catching up one what had happened since Ranma's death.  
"All right," Ranma said after several hours of talking, "Enough talking. I'm beat. My throat is dry. I'm going to sleep. We've been talking for hours and I have no idea what had happened while I was gone. We can talk about it tomorrow,"  
"Um, we will be visiting your grave tomorrow," Misato said. She wondered how Ranma was going to take it.  
Everyone wondered how Ranma was going to react.

Ranma was in the backyard doing some kata forms, enjoying the morning sunshine. Asuka and Shinji and Rei were in the livingroom, doing miscellaneous things, trying to keep busy.  
Akane, wearing a gi, was next to Ranma, doing the same kata forms with him. Both of their forms were flawless. After they were done with their usual morning ritual of practicing their kata forms and eating breakfast, they were going to visit real Ranma's grave and pay their respects.  
"I think I had a dream," Rei said, watching Ranma through the window. She had experienced her first dream last night and didn't know what it meant, or how it should be interpreted.  
Shinji looked up from his manga and said, "Huh? What do you mean you had a dream? You said you don't dream,"  
Rei said, "I found the dream very disturbing,"  
"What about it?" Shinji asked.  
"I saw two Ranmas,"  
Shinji commented, "Well, we are going to Ranma's grave. Perhaps that's what sparked that dream,"  
"Yes, perhaps,"

Ranma was in his room, getting dressed up. Although a year had passed since Ranma death, his room had remained as it was, never touched. It seemed no one wanted to go into his room, feeling they were trying to rid him from their lives if they got rid of his personal belongings.  
He felt very odd about doing this. Today was exactly one year since his real self had died and he was getting ready to go to the cemetary to pay respects. He had no idea how he would react, seeing his own grave.  
There was a knock on her door.  
"Come in, it's opened," he said, putting a tank top on. He was glad he could remove thos wings of his. He didn't like the thought of putting holes in all of his shirts for his wings.  
Rei entered the room.  
Ranma smiled warmly, "Hello, Rei. What can I do for you?" He walked over to his closet and opened it and proceeded to look for a decent outfit.  
Rei was silent for several moments before she said in a soft voice, "I sensed something about you when you first appeared,"  
Confused, Ranma turned toward Rei and eyed her curiously and said, "Sense me? What do you mean?"  
"You and I, we are now alike," she said.  
He realized what Rei was talking about, "I understand. We're both Angels,"  
"Hai,"  
"Well, I assume that makes you feel better, you're not the only Angel in this world," he said with a smirk, "I'm glad I could make you feel better,"  
Rei blushed a bit. She wasn't expecting Ranma to react this way. "Does it bother you? That you're an Angel?"  
Ranma shook his head, "No. Not at all. Does it bother you?"  
Rei was silent.  
He said, "Well, you shouldn't be bothered by it,"  
"I am not," she said softly, "I don't get bothered by it,"  
"That's good to hear," he said, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest, "If you really wanna think about it, I think it's actually kinda cool,"  
"Cool? It does not bother you that you're...you're a clone?"  
Ranma shook his head, "No. But dontcha feel like you're special? You're unique. It doesn't even bother me that I'm a clone. Clone. It rolls of your tongue. `I'm a clone', that sounds so cool."  
"Y-you think I'm unique?"  
He smiled warmly and gestured toward the chair in front of the tiny desk at the corner of his room. "Please, take a seat," When she did as he was told, he sat down on his futon and said, "Of course you're unique. There's no one in this world like you. Sure, you may think you're replacable, but you shouldn't think that. Here's a thought, you have a soul. Your soul is what makes you so special, one of a kind,"  
"I'm one of a kind," she said.  
Ranma almost wanted to pull the hair out frustration, but he kept in control and said, "Yes, you're one of a kind. You are very special. Also, you don't work for Nerv anymore. You're not a pilot. You're a person, with a soul, just like myself,"  
Rei was silent. She smiled a bit. She liked that thought. She was just like Ranma, and Ranma was special in her eyes. That must mean she was special in other people's eyes.  
"Don't be so down on yourself, Rei," he said patiently, "Who's decision was it to self destruct Unit-00 to save Shinji's life? It was yours. You have the freedon to choose, and that is one of the things, one of the rights, that everyone have to life,"  
"That is true,"  
A voice could be heard from downstairs. It was Akane's voice, "Hey, Ranma, you almost ready? We're all about to leave,"  
Ranma ignored Akane's voice and said, "Of course it's true. It was your decision. That's a part about living." He got up and placed a hand on her shoulder, "And guess what? You're alive. You're living. So, have fun,"  
"I-I will,"  
"All right, let's have some fun then," Ranma said with a warm smile, "Have you ever been to the beach?"  
"No,"  
"Never?"  
"No,"  
"All right, then I'm gonna take you and everyone tot he beach," he said, "We're all going to have a ball. I swear, one of the days, I'm going to make you not only crack a smile, but laugh uncontrollably,"  
Rei smiled slightly, "I look forward to it,"  
"Hey, Ranma, what's going on?" he heard Akane's voice.  
Ranma, a bit annoyed, shouted back "Keep yer panties on you uncute tomboy! I'm having a chat with Rei,"  
"What did you call me?" Rei and Ranma head coming from downstairs.  
Rei giggled a bit. Ranma smirked, "Well, I gotta get dressed. Go on down and tell Akane I'll be downstairs in a couple of minutes,"  
"All right," she said. She got up off her seat and left the room. Ranma followed her outside into the hallway and listened to Rei tell Akane that Ranma would be ready in a minute.  
"Well, I'm gonna kill him when he comes down," he heard Akane muttering, "That baka! You hear me Ranma? How dare you say that to me!"  
Ranma smiled as he headed back into his bedroom. Although only thing that was missing is Ryoga to pick on, it was good being back home.  
Ranma stood in front of the grave. Everyone had paid their respects and were waiting patiently. Sylia, Nene, Linna, and Priss were already there when everyone had arrived. Shocked at first upon seeing Ranma alive and well, they were told that it would all be explained after the visit.  
After they paid their respects, Ranma asked to be left alone in front of the grave, and that he would be with them in a little while.  
"This is weird, Ranma," Ranma said in a soft voice. "I can't believe it. I-I actually died. You did the right thing though. Although I'm only a mere clone of you, I would have died doing the same thing. Remember how fun it was, when we were young? The finacees, the fights, the curse? I know you found those days fun because I found them fun also..."  
Akane and everyone stood a short ways off, all of them gazing up the hill to where Ranma's lone grave stood, shaded by a single tree. They watched Ranma carefully, wishing they knew what he was talking about.  
"Do you think he's all right?" Nene asked. She wondered how she would be able to handle something like that, knowing that she was a clone and that her real self had died. She would probably be crying her eyes out. She was sure she wasn't the only one. The other girls and Shinji were watching Ranma intently, probably thinking the same thing.  
"I don't know," Akane said, "I really don't know,"  
Ranma looked down at the tombstone, experiencing the spectrum of emotions when dealing with death. He was now angry as he nearly shouted, "Why? What the hell did you die? I was so looking forward to meeting you!" He got down on his knees, placing both hands on the top of the tombstone, "I hate myself. Why do I have to be so unafraid of death? Why?" It took several minutes before he took a deep breath, calming himself down and said, "Well, you won't hafta worry about Akane and the others. I'll take over where you left off. They'll be well taken care of." He chuckled weakly, "Heck, after this, I'm gonna take Rei to the beach for her very first time. We're all going to have some fun."  
He stood up, "Well, Ranma, it was nice talking to you. Well, because I'm here, I'm pretty sure, somewhere, where ever you are, you're probably busy trying to come up with a plan to coming back to life. And while you're busy doing that in the afterlife, here, in the living world, I'm going to find some kinda way to bring you back. You can bet on that."  
He turned around and headed back down the group of awaiting people.

Ranma and the others were back home. Sylia, Nene, Priss, and Linna were there too, all four of them having the day off. It was now nearing noontime, everyone having visted Ranma's grave early in the morning and then going to breakfast together. While they ate, Ranma told the four girls about everything, about how he was a clone and an Angel and his adventure on that other world.  
When Ranma switche the conversation and mentioned about how he wanted to take Rei to the beach, everyone else seemed to jump at the idea. It was a beautiful sunny day and no one really had much to do anyway.  
Ranma was upstairs in his room while everyone else was downstairs chatting.  
"Man, I'm back for one day an I'm already feeling settled in," he commented with a smile, furrowing through his drawers for a pair of swimming trunks. "Rei's gonna love the beach," He was glad that he could take her. She needed to enjoy life more. Sure, even though she was a little more open than the Rei he once knew before he had left for China with Ryoga, she was still quiet and reclusive.  
After a few minutes, Ranma realized that he couldn't find his bathing suit. He shrugged his shoulders, "Oh well, I'll go out and buy a new one," He picked up his house keys and proceeded downstairs, realizing something, "If Rei's never been to the beach before, that means she doesn't have a swiming outfit. I'll bring her with me,"  
Entering the livingroom where everyone was, he looked at Rei, "Hey, Rei, I'm going to town to buy a swimming suit. Since you probably don't have one, why dontcha come with me?"  
"Okay," she said softly.  
Ranma said, "Okay, everybody, chat amongst yourselves. I'll be back later,"  
Sylia said, "I'm going on home to get my stuff,"  
Linna and Nene and Priss said the same thing.  
"Hey, if it isn't a bother, can one of ya ask Lisa, Madigan, and Carper if they'd like to come?" Ranma said, right before leaving with Rei, "They don't know about me and I'd like to surprised `em. I'll save the wings for a rainy day,"  
"Wings?" Sylia asked. "What wings?"  
Ranma chuckled, "Nevermind about that. I'll see you later,"  
He and Rei left.

Rei and Ranma walked down the street together. Rei was staring straight ahead while Ranma was looked around. After a while, he asked, "Rei, have you seen Ryoga around?"  
"No," she answered, "I haven't seen him in several months. I assume he's left on another training trip,"  
"Probably got lost again," Ranma commented with a smirk.  
"He took it very hard when you died," Rei said, still looking ahead, "He said he wanted to take his time. I guess he wants the time to clear his mind,"  
Ranma was silent. He was pretty surprised someone like Rygoa would actually be effected by his death.  
As he and Rei walked down the street, Shinji and Asuka finally managed to catch up to them.  
"Ranma," Shinji called out, stopping for a moment to catch his breath. He was glad he was close enough that Ranma had heard someone call his name and turned around. When he spoted Shinji and Asuka, he and Rei proceeded toward them.  
"Something wrong?" he asked.  
"Aside from you? Not really," Asuka said, back to her normal self of disliking Ranma.  
"We don't have bathing suits," Shinji said.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "All right. Come along. I have plenty of money for everyone. We'll all buy swimming stuff together. What about Misato and Ritsuko? How about them?"  
"They went with Sylia," Shinji said, "She told them that she had some extra pairs and could lend her to them,"  
"All right. Whatever."

Ranma and Shinji picked up the first pair of swimming trunks they came across that came in their size.  
"All right, we've got what we're looking for," Ranma said, proceeded toward the cash register with Shinji and the outfit. There were several people in the shop also. Asuka said, "How can you have gotten pair of swimming trunks already? We just go here," She only looked through two pairs of outfits so far.  
"Hey, we're guys, we look good in any kinda swimming trunks," Ranma smirked. "If it fits, we'll wear it,"  
"Bah, men," Asuka muttered. "I don't really know why I'm bothering getting a swimsuit. It's not like I'm gonna go into the water anyway,"  
Rei picked up a blue one piece swimsuit "Is this okay?"  
Ranma smiled, "Sure, Rei. Whatever ya like. It's gonna look cute on you. Right, Shinji?" He nudged Shinji.  
"Um, y-yeah," Shinji said nervously, blushing a bit.  
Rei blushed a bit. "Thank you,"  
Ranma smiled. He picked up a pair of the slinkiest swimming trunks that he could fine. It looked like a string cloth, "Jeez, this looks like an eye patch. If it gets any slinkier, I could use this as dental floss. God, the girls nowadays wear this kinda stuff? Jeez,"

Ranma was holding the suntan lotion.  
"Hey, Sylia, do me a favor and rub some suntan lotion on my back?" he asked. He walked up to the female sitting nearst to his beach towel, whom happened to be Sylia. She was in the process of putting her own suntan lotion on.  
"Um, o-okay," Sylia said nervously. She watched as Ranma handed the the bottle and then sat down in front of him. She gazed at his naked back for several moments.  
"Boy, that lotion must be really light cause I sure don't even feel it," Ranma said wryly, smirking the whole time. He looked up and saw Linna and Priss seemingly glaring at Sylia. He laughed inwardly.  
Sylia proceeded to put the lotion on. "It's nice that you're back,"  
"Thanks for the compliment,"  
"No," Sylia said a bit annoyed, "I said it's nice that you're back. I was commenting on you,"  
"Oh," Ranma said, smirking "Well, that's what I said, `Thanks for the comment'"  
Sylia smiled a bit. Ranma sure was a quick thinker. He had grown much smarter over time. Heck, he had grown up both physically and mentally. Considering how much Ranma had changed over the years, she wondered what would have happened if she and her friends mistakened Ranma for a boomer now. She and her friends wouldn't be able to come close to touching him, let alone defeating him. But then again, when Ranma was much weaker, they still couldn't beat him.  
"You've changed," she said, rubbing the lotion on. His back felt solid, taut with muscles that were much stronger than could be determined. Ranma was a bit confused, "Oh? What do you mean?"  
"You've grown up," she said, "I like how you've changed. You've taken to caring for Shinji and Asuka and Rei, let Ritsuko and Misato stay in your home. You're quite like the family man. Have you ever though about settling down?"  
Ranma chuckled. "I've never really thought about it before. I don't think I'm cut out to raise a family. I don't think I'm a good family man,"  
A little five year old girl ran up to Ranma and hugged him, "Uncle Ranma! You're back!"  
He hugged the little girl, "Hello, Jun. How's my little darling?"  
"I'm fine," she said, happily, still hugging Ranma.  
"Since you're here, I assume your mom and dad are here. Where are they?" he asked, smiling warmly.  
The little girl's parents showed appeared as if on cue. Madigan and Carper's jaws nearly dropped to the sand they were standing on, "R-R-  
Ranma?" the said in unison. They both couldn't believe who they were seeing. They had just gone to Ranma's grave a short while ago, right before they headed to the beach with their daughter to meet up with Akane and the others.  
Ranma smiled, "Hello,"  
Jun sat in Ranma's lap. "Ranma's back," she said in a happy voice.  
"W-we c-can see that," Madigan said in a very shocked voice. "B-but how?"  
"It's a long story,"  
"I bet," she said. "And I hope you're going to tell us,"  
Ranma turned toward Jun and said, "Jun, dear, go on and say hi to auntie Akane," The little girl did as she was told. She ran into Akane's waiting arms.  
Sylia smiled, this warm feeling in her heart as she said, "I don't know about you, but from what I gather after watching that little display of affection, that's definitely family man material,"  
"Wings? What wings?" Carper asked, confused. He and his wife were sitting on either side of Ranma on the beach towel. The rest of the adults were playing a game of beach volley ball. There was a massive crowd of males watching the game intently. Perhaps it was because it was only females playing the game. Shinji and Rei were busy making a sandcastle with Jun. Rei seemed to be enjoying this outing quite a bit. Asuka was currently the focus of attention of four boys as they tried to get to know her better. She simply gave them wry replies, glancing at Ranma every here and there for some unknown reason.  
Ranma smiled, "Don't worry about it. You'll find out about that later. Forget I mentioned it."  
"How does it feel, to know that you're a clone of the one that died?" Madigan asked.  
"I'm not bothered by it. Afterall, Akane's also a clone," Ranma replied articulately, "I found out that my other self had died doing the same thing that I would have done. In a way, although I am indeed a clone, I don't feel like one," Ranma looked around, "Do you guys know if Lisa's going to show up? How is she doing?"  
"We don't really know if she's going to show up or not," Carper said. "She's doing fine. We saw her a few days ago while I was picking Jun up from school,"  
"Jun's grown up quite a bit," Ranma commented. "Yeah," Madigan said, looking at her daughter while she happily played with Rei and Shinji.  
"Well, Lisa shouldn't have a hard time finding us," Ranma said, getting up, "Afterall, all of us are at the beach. She should be able to spot at least one of us. C'mon, enough talking. I've been explaining my life for the past two days, ever since I got back. Now, let's go have some fun."  
He stretched his arms out, the muscles of his body rippling, and then walked over toward Asuka. He asked, "Hey, Asuka, what gives? Dontcha wanna be over with Jun and Rei and Shinji?  
"Hey, can't you see she's busy?" a boy said. He stood almost as tall as Ranma. However, Ranma stood taller than all of them. The boy wanted to show off that badass attitude he had to Asuka and impressing her. Also, he was with his friends and felt less threatened.  
Ranma looked at the boy and laughed, "Hey, is your name Asuka? Well, since it isn't then that means I wasn't talking to you," He turned back toward Asuka, "Well?"  
Asuka looked at Ranma. She didn't know how to react. Her heart was racing. She had been only slightly amused by these simpletons that seemed attracted to her. But now, here was Ranma, seemingly livening the situation up. Ranma jerked a thumb toward the boys, and said bluntly "You like boys like these? What's with that supposedly badass attitude of theirs? Jeez, you've got odd tastes. With attitudes like theirs, even the seagulls wouldn't shit on `em,"  
"What the fuck didja say?" another boy said. He glanced at his friends. They would all jump him at once.  
Ranma flipped that boy the middle finger and smiled wryly. He then said, "Go away. She's too good for you."  
Asuka looked up at Ranma. Was what he was saying serious? Did he mean it? He sure looked it.  
"Get him!" the boy shouted. He lunged forward and punched Ranma right in the face. Ranma didn't even move. The boy pulled his hand away, a finger most likely broken. The other boys, whom had been about to attack, stopped when they saw Ranma totally unfazed.  
Ranma smirked, "Go home,"  
The boys ran away. Asuka continued to stare up at him.  
He turned toward her, "Go hang out with Shinji and the others. Why are you associating boys like that? You deserve better,"  
He turned around and headed on over toward where the girls were playing beach volleyball. By now, there were so many males gathered around that Ranma actually had trouble making it through. When he disappeared into the crowd, Asuka looked at where Shinji and Jun and Rei seemed intent on making a sandcastle. After a moment, she shrugged he shoulders and walked on over to be with them.  
When finally made it through the crowd, he stepped onto the sand court and walked over to the nearst player, Linna, and said, "Can I join in?"  
"Sure!" she said happily, smiling warmly. She turned toward the other team and said, "Hey, Ranma's gonna play,"  
The entire crowd of males seemed to mutter about how Ranma was going to ruin the game, that it was better watching two teams of females playing against one another. Now Ranma had to go and ruin everything. Some of them even started to shout profanity toward him.  
Ranma turned toward the group, challenging everyone at once. He flipped them all the middle finger, a big grin on his face and proceeded to turn three hundred and sixty degrees in plan so everyone could see the middle finger. "You're all just jealouse that you can't play a game with all these lovely girls,"  
"What the hell is Ranma doing?" Nene said to one of her teammate, Misato. "Does he have some deathwish?"  
Misato was smiling as she said, "Hey, you know Ranma better than we do. Why on earth would he do that?"  
Nene shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I guess that's his way of having some fun,"

Ranma sat down by the sandcastle, "God, I can't believe every single guy there bumrushed me,"  
"Are you gonna help us with our sandcastle?" the five year old Jun asked, eyes wide. He nodded, "Yeah. All those guys back there don't want me playing volleyball so I'll just both you guys with this sandcastle here,"  
Ranma noticed Asuka glaring at him. "What? Do I have something on my face?" he asked.  
"You mean besides bruises?" Shinji asked with a smirk.  
Jun pointed, and said, "Uncle Ranma, those ladies are staring at you," When Ranma followed Jun's gaze, he saw a small group of four girls that seemed to have immediately turned their attention onto something else, pretending like they hadn't been looking at him.  
"Perhaps it is because Ranma is a good looking man," Rei said softly, continuing to build the sandcastle.  
"Why thank you," he smiled warmly. Asuka seemed to mutter something in German about how she couldn't understand Rei could say something like that without being embarrassed about it. Sure, Ranma was indeed handsome, but she couldn't understand how Rei wouldn't be nervous around him. Even though she disliked him, Asuka still found herself a bit nervous around his presence.  
"Hey, have any of you seen Lisa around?" Ranma decided to ask. His eyes rested on a young looking girl walking straight toward them, "Well speak of the devil,"  
Lisa's eyes was wide, "R-Ranma? Is that you?"  
"It's a long story,"

"Waitaminute, t-that would make you somewhere around eighty," Lisa said, realizing something.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Somewhere around there,"  
"But it's only been one years since you...your other self died and when you came back," Lisa said.  
Ranma nodded, "Yes, but, don't forget what I just told you, I was on that world for around fifteen years before I came back. So, while you and the others only aged one year, which makes you, what, about forty, I aged fifteen. Pretty messed up, ne?" He gave a chuckled.  
"Well, you still look good for a eighty year old," she smiled.  
"Thanks,"

Lisa, anticipating that the children would be there, had brough two boogie boards.  
Ranma handed Rei the boogie board.  
Rei looked at the object in her hands and asked, "What is this?"  
"It's a boogie board," Ranma replied patiently, remembering that Rei had never been to the beach before, "You lie on your stomach on it and ride the waves as it comes toward the shore. It's really fun. You'll love it." "It sounds interesting," Rei commented.  
"Can you swim?"  
Rei nodded, "Yes,"  
"Good," Ranma grabbed Rei's hand and lead her to the water. When they both actually got into the water, Ranma said, "All right, Rei, get on the boogie board, lie on your stomach,"  
Asuka eyed them both from ashore, her arms crossed over her chest, "What is he doing? Is he stupid or something? There's no waves,"  
Rei did as Ranma was told. While on the board, she said, "The water is cold,"  
Ranma laughed aloud, "And you know what cold water does to a girl's chest, huh?"  
She blushed, still holding onto the board. "You embarrass me," She watched Ranma's back as he proceeded to swim out to see ahead of her, holding the small rope that was attached to the front of the board. She was about to ask what was going to happen but stopped when Ranma turned around to face her.  
"We are far away from shore," she stated, looking back toward the shoreline.  
"I know," Ranma said, "That's good. You want that." While remaining stationary in the water, Ranma turned Rei and the board around to face the shore. Shinji and Asuka and Jun watching them intently. "Hold on tight, you're in for great ride," He ducked underwater, and swam about twenty feet downward. Once at that depth, he twisted around and darted toward the surface, rocketing through the water as fast as possible. Within seconds, he shot up out of the water about thirty feet and twisted in mid-air, shooting on a massive ki-blast about five miles further out toward sea. The explosion that was created caused a massive ripple in the water, the ripple extending outward, gaining strength, soon creating a rather large tidal wave.  
Ranma landing in the water again, just as the wave got higher and higher in the air. He resurfaced and turned toward Rei. She was still facing the shore.  
"All right, hold on tight," Ranma said. He then proceeded to swim toward the shoreling, intending to body surf back to land. Rei gasped as she immediately found herself being caught in the massive wave and then thrusted toward the land, propelled by the wave behind her. As she finally realized she was actually riding a wave toward the shore, she smiled and even let out a little yelp of surprise and amusement.  
The ride lasted only about ten seconds, but it was invigorating. When she came to a halt, she stood up as Shinji and Jun rushed up to her. Asuka took her time.  
"How was it?" Shinji asked, very interested.  
Rei turned back around and watched as Ranma emerged from the ocean, getting out and walking toward her, "How was it, Rei?"  
"It...it was very interesting," Rei said, a bit more earger than she thought. "Dontcha mean fun?" Ranma smirked.  
"Yes, it was fun,"  
"Do ya wanna do it again?" Ranma asked with a smile, "I can make one huge tidal wave. It would last much much longer than that one ya just had. Of course, we'll hafta swim about three miles out, but I won't mind,"  
"If it doesn't bother you..." she didn't finish her sentence. She really wanted to do it again.  
Ranma smiled, "All right. Let's do it." He looked at Shinji and then at Asuka, "Shinji, Asuka, would one of you like to come along? Lisa did bring two boogie boards, afterall"  
"I'll go with Ranma," Asuka said vehemontly, grabbing the boogie board from Shinji's hands.  
Asuka quickly caught up to Ranma as he and Rei proceeded back out into into sea.  
Ranma stopped for a moment to look at Asuka. He smiled a bit and said, "If I recall correctly, you said you didn't weren't going into the water. What's with the change of heart?"  
Asuka blushed.

Ranma and the others were now at a public hot pring. It was now getting close to evening. After they beach, everyone wanted to wash up and go out to dinner. Of course, wondering how a restaurant will be able to accompdate forteen people was a mystery to Ranma and the others.  
The public hot spring was located along the beach shoreline, and provided a great view of the sun as it set in the horizon. Ranma, Carper, and Shinji were all soaking in their side of the spring.  
"Ranma, you've grown up over the years," Carper said, feeling his muscles relax.  
"Sylia told me the same thing also," Ranma answered, leaning against the wall that seperated the men's side from the female's side and gazed up at the sky. "Well, what can you say, I've have, what, seventy or so years to grow up. People do change over the years."  
Carper chuckled a bit as he said, "Remember when we first met?"  
"Yeah," Ranma chuckled.  
"What?" Shinji asked, wanting to get in on the conversation.  
Ranma smirked, "Carper and Madigan were both trying their hardest to kill me and Ryoga. And the funny thing was that we didn't even know they were trying to kill us. They kept sending wave after wave of boomer, those are the robots I told you about, after us and we kept destroying it. They must've sent a couple hundred after us, each boomer probably worth about five hundred thousand yen each."  
"Well, when Genom used to be around, it had more money than it knew what to do with it," Carper smiled.  
Ranma nudeged Shinji, "Yeah, and the funny thing, we knew this. So what do Ryoga and I do? We broke into Genom and robbed `em blind. Sure, they're worth more through assests and property, but we stole all the money that they had in their bank vault at the time. How much did we steal? I think it was several billion yen per crate. Ryoga and I stole several of `em."  
Carper burst out laughing, "And the funny thing was we actually sent out boomers to retrieve it. And in the process, we stumble upon one of the Knight Sabers' home and didn't even realize it. And above that, you stashed quite a bit of the money away."  
Shinji laughed a bit. He remembered Akane telling him bits of that story not too long ago, when she was teaching him in the dojo. Ranma looked at Shinji, "Hey, Shinji, what have you been up to? It's been over a year since you settled down here. How's everything going? How's school?"  
Shinji took several moments before he said, "Um, well, shortly after your death, I sought to better himself in martial arts and asked Akane to teach me. From what you had showed me back there when you were on our world, it got me really interested. I've been training ever since, but not that hard. I still have a long way to go. With school, it's going fine. The martial arts came in handy quite a bit,"  
"Oh?" Ranma asked.  
"There was some school bully that had a thing for testing out the new kids that come to school, and he started picking on me. I managed to defend myself," he said, his confidence level through the roof again. He remembered how great it felt when he realized that he could actually defend himself physically against a larger opponent. Of course, it wasn't until Shinji resorted to giving the bully a good swift kick in his private area before Shinji was able to knock him out. Regardless, it felt great.  
Ranma and Carper both congradulated Shinji.  
Ranma smirked, "Let's have some fun with the girls,"  
Shinji's nose threatened to bleed.  
"No, you moron," Ranma said, "Not like that." He walked away from the wall and shouted out, "Hey, Sylia, Akane, whoever, do any of ya have the body lotion?"  
Nene walked up toward the wall on her side, "Yes. I have it,"  
"Do me a favor and throw it over?" she heard him say. All the girls, who had been chatting with each other, stopped and proceeded toward the wall after having heard Ranma's voice.  
Nene grabbed the body lotion bottle floating in the water and threw it over. A second later, she heard Ranma.  
"Ow," Ranma said, "That hurt,"  
"What happened?" Carper asked, getting in on the joke. "The bottle hit me on my private part," everyone heard Ranma's voice. Several girls blushed. Misato and Ritsuko and Sylia were buying none of that.  
"Here, lettme see," they heard Carper's voice.  
"Hey, that tickles," Ranma chuckled.  
Misato whispered, "Don't believe `em. Asuka and I played that same trick on Shinji. I have a better idea," She shouted out, "Ranma, as soon as you and Carper over there are through fondling each other, throw the bottle back over,"  
On the other side, Ranma pouted, "Gee, that didn't work. Oh well, it was worth a shot," He threw the bottle back over. A second later, the guys heard Misato say, "Hey, look, girls, I managed to catch the bottle between my breasts. Cool, huh?"  
"That's quite a feat," they heard Linna voice, "But then again, you have such nice breasts,"  
"Thank you," came Misato's voice again. "H-hey, what are you doing?"  
"And they're so firm," came Sylia's voice, "My, I wish my breasts felt as firm as this,"  
"Sylia, don't stop that. That feels kinda good," Misato said, trying her best not to burst out laughing. This was much better than the joke she and Asuka pulled on Shinji. They were now teasing three guys instead of one.  
All three guys' eyes widened as they continued to listen. Ranma and Carper walked to the wall to see if they could find a peep hole. "Where's a peep hole when you need one?" Ranma muttered.  
"Guys, it's only a joke," Shinji said. He did find himself having some rather hentai thoughts. The thought of thermal expansion came into his mind. He quickly ducked back into the water.  
"What if it isn't?" Carper said with a grin.  
"Well, since there's no peephole around here, there's only one thing left to do," Ranma said, getting up out of the water. He proceeded toward the huge rock that was up against the wall near the back of the hot spring. Carper and Shinji looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and followed him.  
"W-what are you doing?" Shinji asked, noticing Ranma now climbing up the rock.  
Ranma smirked, "Hey, I'm a guy, that can excuse my pervertedness, ne? I'm curious,"  
"Y-you've gotta be kiddin' me," Shinji muttered. Carper's jaw dropped. Ranma was going to lose his head the moment he peeped over onto the other side.  
Ranma looked over the wall and saw all the girls standing there, near the wall, almost laughing. And Misato didn't have the bottle between her breasts. "Hey, what gives? You lied!"  
Everyone turned their attention toward Ranma. Everyone shouted as they realized someone was actually seeing them naked "Ranma, you pervert!" they all shouted. Most of the girls ducked back into the water, covering their front up with their chests. Akane proceeded to pick bath buckets up and launch them at Ranma's head, only to have Ranma easily swat it out of the way, grinning like there was no tomorrow.  
He stuck out his tongue at Akane. Everyone then saw Ranma turned his attention toward something motion for them to come closer to him as he shouted, "Hey, Shinji, Carper, come one up! The view is great!"  
He caught the bucket launched at him, intent to cleave his head, and smiled. He proceeded to balance it on the tip of his finger, sticking his tongue out at everyone.  
"Get outta here you pervert!" Akane shouted, launching yet another bucket. By now, most of the girls in the in the spring was launching things at him, most of them inaccurate and hitting the wall below him. Even the girls that didn't know him were throwing things at him.  
Asuka launched a piece of soap at Ranma, only to have Ranma catch it, still grinning.  
Ranma turned toward his side and said, "Hey, look, Shinji. This is Asuka's soap. That means she's rubbed this against her body. Here, you could have it,"  
Shinji's nose started bleeding as he ran away from the rock toward the front of the spring where the towels were located. Ranma shurgged his shoulders and turned back onto the girls' side of the of the spring. He raised the bar of soap, "Asuka, the thought of you rubbing this all over your body turns me on!"  
"Die!" Akane shouted, throwing two bath buckets at a time, her aim perfect. The only problem was that Ranma was extremely skilled and proceeded to swat the buckets out of the way with ease, still grinning. Carper's head popped up. Madigan saw this and shouted, "Carper, get your head back down if you know what's good for you!"  
"Yes, honey," Carper said meekly, ducking his head back down before he could get a good look at anything, let alone anyone. He was hoping his wife was with Jun in another part of the spring. While sitting on the rock, leaning his back against the wall, Carper looked up at Ranma and commented, "Ranma, you're such a bad influence,"  
"Hey, don't distract me!" Ranma said. He looked at Shinji on the other side of the spring and said, "Shinji, throw me a towel!"  
Shinji made his way toward the rock and threw Ranma the towel. Ranma wrapped it around his waist and hoped up on to the top of the wall, balancing on it like he would on a fence way back then. He proceeded to run back and forth, dodging the incoming projectiles.  
As Ranma continued to dodge attacks, Akane realized that it was going to be nearly impossible knocking Ranma off the fence as he proceeded to almost dance, teasing and egging all the females. A moment later, she realized the only way to knock him off was anticipate his next move. She grabbed the soap and threw it for the area where Ranma was going to take his next step. She smiled as Ranma stepped on the soap and fell off the fence and onto the female side. Unfortuantely, Ranma had reached a hand out and caught a hand on the top of the fence, preventing himself from falling all the way over. He climbed back up onto the top of the fence and smirked, "I don't think so, Akane! I've learned over the years! You're gonna hafta do better than that!"  
"Die!" she shouted, throwing any and everything at him.  
Ranma as he continued to dodge, caught sight of Rei as she threw items toward him. She was smiling, not at all bothered at Ranma seeing her naked, but of having fun trying to hit a moving target because he was causing quite a stir, working for the good of the female side of the spring to rid the pervert.  
That seemed to provide the distraction for Ranma for he stopped for a moment to smile at her, only to have both feet hit out from under him sending him falling forward, landing on the top of the fence with his stomach before flipping forward and landing back first in the female side of the spring.  
When Ranma resurfaced, he caught sight of a mob of females rushing toward him, heading toward him like an unstoppable force. "Oh boy, I am soooo dead now,"

Everyone was now sitting around a massive round table. The restaurant had brought it out from one of their backrooms, for groups of this large a number. It was now very dark out, somewhere around nine.  
Jun sat in a little child seat next to Ranma, chatting with Ranma while everyone else chatted with each other.  
"I like cookies," Jun said happily. "But mommy and daddy don't like me eating cookies. They say its bad for me if I eat a lot and will give me a tummy ache,"  
"I like cookies, too," Ranma said. "They taste even better with milk,"  
"They do?" she asked curiously. "Yeah," Ranma said with a smile, "You should drink a lot of milk. It's good for you. If you drink a lotta milk, your mom and pop might give you a cookie to have with it,"  
Sylia, Madigan, Misato, and Ritsuko seemed the be listening to the conversation between Ranma and Jun.  
Misato leaned over to Madigan and said, "Ranma seems good with children,"  
"Yeah," Madigan replied. "And the funny thing is he doesn't even know it,"  
"He seems quite the catch, ne?" Ritsuko asked Sylia. She was sitting next to her.  
"I've never really seen this side of him," Sylia asked softly, still watching Ranma and Jun, "I never knew he was good with children. Heh, I guess that just seems to add more to that sex appeal of him," She liked Ritsuko even though they only knew each other for a short time. Perhaps it was because they were both brilliant people. Linna smirked as she wanted to tease Ranma, "Ranma, you're good with children. Have you ever thought of becoming a father?"  
"W-what?" Ranma asked, shocked.  
"You know, females find a man good with children to be very attractive," she said slyly, "That's one of the things females look for in a man, if he's good with children,"  
"What, you wanna have children with me?" Ranma asked.  
Linna laughed nervously, "Don't be s-silly, Ranma. I'm not ready to settle down just yet. I will very soon. You're going to be the first person I come to," She smiled at Akane. Linna would never say something like this in front of Akane if she hadn't found out that Ranma and Akane were now considered best friends, not lovers.  
Ranma chuckled, "Good chance I'll be still single then," He turned back toward Jun, "So, what do ya wanna eat?"  
"What makes you think you'll still be single?" Lisa asked. She found herself jumping for joy. Ranma was still single. Perhaps she still had a chance.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno. Because I have no intention of dating,"  
"Why not?" Shinji asked.  
"Martial arts is what I like, not dating,"

Ranma was walking down the street with everyone, carrying a sleeping Jun piggy-back style. It was somewhere nearing eleven at night.  
"Hey, I wonder when Ryoga's gonna show up?" Ranma asked to no one in particular, "I betcha he's in for a surprise,"  
"Who knows when he'll show up," Akane said, "He hasn't been around in ages."  
Sylia and her three friends started down another path. "Well," Sylia said, "Here is where we split apart. Today was great. We all needed time off from time to time. But, unfortunately, we all live in the real world and have jobs that we need to get back to tomorrow,"  
All four girls gave Ranma a hug, careful not to wake Jun.  
"It's great having you back," Linna said, kissing him on his cheek. The other girls did the same, telling him that they had a great time and wanted him to drop in on them them in the near future whenever he or anyone else was in town. They said their goodbyes and parted.  
Walking down for several more block, Madigan said, "All right, here's where we part." She took Jun into her arms, craddling her, and smiled toward Ranma. "If I weren't married, I'd consider you a great catch," "Hey!" Carper said, "I resent that. What am I, chopped liver?"  
Madigan gave her husband a playful nudge. "No dear. Of course not."  
Madigan and Carper said how glad they were to see Ranma alive and well.  
"Well, I'm glad we didn't end up killing you, if that was possible," Carper said with a smirk, "You're a great guy. It's too bad we got off on the wrong foot, what with us trying to kill you and all,"  
Ranma chuckled, "You're not the only one. The same thing goes for Sylia and the others. Heck, Lisa hit me in the head with a brick. I don't think I've met anyone unless it was through some unusual circumstances,"  
Madigan and Carper said their goodbyes and soon parted. After a short while, Lisa and Ritsuko and Misato parted.  
"Misato, Ritsuko? Where are you going?"  
Misato smiled, "It's been a year, Ranma. We now how our own place. Lisa and Ritsuko and I live together,"  
"B-but how come you were at my house when I arrive?"  
"We were visiting," Ritsuko said, smiling. "Surely, we can drop on by whenever where nearby."  
"Of course," Ranma said warmly. "Drop by whenever ya like,"  
"We will," all three girls said. They said their goodbyes and left. All that remained were Akane and Ranma and the three children.  
"Ritsuko and Lisa work together," Akane commented. "They're partners in a small but expanding computer firm. Give it enough time and it would eventually grow up to be another Gendom-like megacorporation. Of course, let's just hope they don't try to create a OMS-type chip,"  
Ranma chuckled, "Let's hope not. What about Misato? What does she do now?"  
"She's in charge of research and development of a major firm," Akane said, "I don't want to spoil everything for you because they might be looking forward to telling you about how well they're off now. I'm pretty sure they would all love to tell you that when they're good and ready,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you're right,"  
Ranma was downstairs in the livingroom, reading a book, something that he had never really done before. He assumed that there was something else he could get interested in. Reading was the first thing that came in mind.  
It was around midnight when Asuka came down the stairs to goto the bathroom. Although she was half asleep, she managed to notice Ranma.  
"What're you reading?" she asked. She was surprised to see Ranma actually attempting to read a book. But then again, it was probably a book that had a lot of pictures.  
"I dunno, the cover got ripped off a long time ago. This is an old book," he replied.  
"I never knew you read," she said.  
"I don't. I figure I'd give something new a try," he said with a wave of his hand.  
Asuka sat down on the couch adjacent to his. Ranma eyed her curiously and said, "Ain't it a bit late for you to be up? It's past midnight. Dontcha have school tomorrow? Speaking of it, how is it? Doing okay I assume, you being booksmart and all,"  
"It's okay," she replied, "I'm doing much better now that I got used to it."  
"Better?" he asked "What do you mean by that? I always thought you did real well"  
"I didn't know the kanji," she said with a wave of her hand, "I kinda had trouble understanding the questions. But now, now that I do know it, I'm breezing through it. I graduated from college in Germany, afterall. Given the time, I'll finish Japanese college in no time,"  
Ranma looked down at the old book, his voice a bit sad, "That's good to hear. I'm glad to hear that,"  
Asuka caught something in his tone of voice and said "Not that I really care about you and all, but from the tone of your voice, it seems like something's wrong,"  
Ranma placed the book on the coffee table. "I never even finished high school." he said, right before heading upstairs.  
Asuka remained sitting in the livingroom. She didn't even remember why she had come downstairs in the first place.

Ranma outside in the backyard early in the morning, doing kata forms.  
Asuka was the first to wake up and was on her way to take a morning shower when she spotted him fron the back porch.  
"G'morning, Asuka," Ranma said, still continuing to practice, perspiring a bit.  
"Um, g-good morning," Asuka said, more awake now. Ranma wasn't wearing a shirt, the morning already too hot. "Why the hell are you not wearing a shirt?"  
"What are you, my mother?" Ranma retorted, still focused, "I could do as I please," He stood very still and started to glow.  
Although Asuka had seen Ranma do this on countless occasions back when he was on her world, it still amazed her. She just couldn't grasp or understand how Ranma exactly did that, no matter how many times he had explained it to her. It seemed very unnatural, which was even more weird because it any and everyone could do it.  
"You have no sense of modesty!" Asuka spat.  
"Funny coming from someone like you because the front of your night gown is open," he retorted Asuka looked down and realized that Ranma was correct. She quickly closed the front of her shirt up, "You pervert!"  
Ranma smirked, "Like I really wanna see you naked anyway,"  
"And just what is wrong with my body anyway?" she asked, her hands on her hips.  
"Nothing. It's the personality that occupies that body that annoys me," he replied, still smirking. "Besides, it's not like I haven't seen you naked anyway. If you've seen one naked girl, you've seen `em all. There's nothing that makes your body any more special that, say, Akane's or Sylia's or whoever."  
Akane turned around the corner, still yawning, and noticed Ranma and Asuka, "What are you two talking about? I heard someone mention my name,"  
"None of your business you uncute tomboy," Ranma chuckled, "Go back to your beauty sleep. You need it,"  
"Ranma, you idiot!"

Ranma was eating breakfast with everyone. On Ranma's face, several bruises could be seen. He even had a black eye.  
"All right, so I talk too much," Ranma muttered when Shinji and Rei glanced toward him curiously.  
Akane hmphed. "Well, you get what you deserve, saying something like that to me," Ranma started laughing.  
"What's so funny?" Shinji asked.  
"It reminds me of the time when I was young," he said, smiling warmly, "Those days were fun,"  
"You mean you enjoy getting hit? Are you some kind of masochist?" Asuka asked, her eyes narrowing. "There must be something really wrong with you...as if there isn't already enough as it is,"  
Ranma leaned forward, his face coming closer to his, "You know, you act just like how Akane used to act...when she and I were fiancees,"  
Asuka nearly spit out her food. She blushed beet red but quickly fought it back and stood up, "Well, even if you were half the obnoxious jerk that you are now, then I feel sorry for Akane, having to be your fiancee back then."  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders and went about ignoring Asuka, eating his food, "Hm, this is pretty good, Akane," Akane smiled, "Thanks. I'm glad you like it."  
Asuka looked at Ranma and then at Akane and then back at Ranma, "Jeez, Ranma, how capricious can you be? First you're arguing with Akane, and then you're complimenting her cooking,"  
"If I knew what that word meant, then perhaps I'll be able to answer ya," he said, still eating.  
"It mean unpredictable," Rei answered for him.  
"Well, her cooking is good," he said, "What she used to cook was real slop. Until not too long ago, everything I ate that she made made me horribly sick,"  
Akane glared at Ranma, getting angrier by the minute.  
"But, she cooks much better now," he commented, still eating, "Heck, it's pretty damn good."  
She blushed a bit, "Um, thanks,"  
Asuka looked at Ranma. He gave her a rather mischievious grin and said, "I may not know what capricious means, but I do know what articulate means,"

Ranma was walking with Rei and Asuka and Shinji to school. He was walking on the fence.  
"Jeez, why the hell are you walking us to school?" Asuka muttered, "It's not like we're gonna get lost or anything. You're not our parents...even though you're old enough to be our parents's father," For some reason, she didn't really mind Ranma walking with her and the others. It kind of added a air of familiarity to life, of belonging.  
"Hey, for your information," Ranma said, "I ain't walkin' ya to school. Your school happens to be on the way to where I'm going,"  
"Where are you going?" Shinji asked. He wondered how long it would take him before he could walk on a fence like Ranma so effortlessly.  
"I wanna pay Misato and Ritsuko and Lisa a visit," he answered. "Oh," Asuka said.  
Arriving at the school, Ranma looked up, "Jeez, I haven't seen one of these things in the longest time,"  
"What, you mean a school?" Shinji asked curiously, "You've got to be kidding me,"  
Ranma shook his head, "No. The last time I've been to a school to learn was when I was sixteen."  
"What happened between when you were sixteen and now?" Rei asked.  
"Well, at sixteen, everyone died and I went up to the mountains," he relied softly, "I trained up there for roughtly thirty years. I came back to Japan where I met up with Sylia and the others, and brought down a major corporation called Genom. I assume the others've told you about that. From there, after Akane and Ryoga and I tried to commit suicide-"  
"S-suicide?" Shinji asked, his eyes wide, "Y-you tried to commit suicide?" This was something he had never known about Ranma. He always thought Ranma lived life to the fullest and would never want to end it prematurely.  
Ranma nodded, "Well, it was either our deaths, or pretty much thousands of people living around the area. The choice came pretty easy. Anyway, we all survived. From there, we journey back to China to rid my curse,"  
"You keep mentioning about how you are cursed," Asuka said, "But exactly what is it? Akane and the others won't tell us,"  
"That's because I don't want anyone knowing about it, Asuka," Ranma grinned, "C'mon, you're smart. If you had a rather upsetting past due to that curse, I'm pretty sure you don't want it being brought up during a dinner conversation and all."  
"That's true, Asuka," Shinji said.  
"Quit butting in, Stupid Shinji," Asuka retorted.  
Shinji glared at Asuka.  
Asuka gritted her teeth. Ever since Shinji learned martial arts, and became pretty damn good in it, he was starting to get cocky. Having beaten up that bully in school also added to the cockiness. She was going to have to bring him down a peg or two. Although she could still beat him up, she knew that sooner or later, he would best her. Although he wasn't as skilled as her, Shinji was physically stronger and faster,"  
Ranma chuckled, "My, Shinji, you've changed,"  
Shinji blushed a bit, "Um, well, n-not really,"  
Ranma place a casual hand over Asuka's shoulder and the other one over Shinji's, "Do you two ever spar against one another?"  
"I'll wipe the floor with him," Asuka said confidently. She noticed Ranma's hand on her shoulder. If it was anyone else's hand, she would have killed him for doing something like that. She let it slide because it was Ranma. Afterall, he had taken her and Shinji and Rei in under his wing and they were living in his house. If they had stayed back on their own world, their life would probably be terrible. Besides, it's not like there is anyway Asuka could physically make Ranma remove his hand. Asking him would only make him keep his hand on her shoulder longer just to tease her.  
Ranma chuckled and looked toward Shinji, "Well, it looks like a challenge,"  
Shinji glared at Asuka, "Don't think you're such hot stuff, Asuka! Considering how much I've been practicing, you're going to be in for a surprise!"  
Rei, ignoring Shinji and Asuka as they argued, continued on toward the school. Shinji, noticing this, stopped what he was doing and said, "Hey, Rei, wait up,"  
Asuka and Ranma were left alone.  
Pulling his arm back, Ranma said, "Well, see ya," He turned around and was about to walk away but was stopped when Asuka called out his name. "What is it?"  
"Um, about what you had said last night," she began slowly.  
"You mean about my not having finished school?" he said slowly, walking back to her. God, does he have to stand so damn close, Asuka thought, looking up at him. He stood a full head taller than her. It also didn't help that she could smell the shampoo Ranma had used this morning. "Um, yes, have you ever thought of going back?"  
Ranma nodded, "Yes, I do. And I will,"  
"Um, when?" she asked. She had no real idea why she was having this conversation with Ranma. She didn't even like him. He was an arrogant, obnoxious, sexist jerk. But for some reason, there was a side to Ranma that she found rather intriguing. She had to admit that Ranma can be a very nice guy. Afterall, he didn't need to bring her and Shinji and Rei back home with him. But that wasn't really it. It was the fact that Ranma had died saving her life that made realize that he was a very kind person. There were those little insignificant things niceties that he does, that he doesn't even realize he is doing, that makes it kind of hard to truly dislike him.  
"When? I don't know," he replied, "I'll probably go back when there's nothing else to do. I kinda get bored easily. If nothing comes up anytime soon, I'll probably go back after summer vacation. Hey, speaking of that, when is the last day of school for you?"  
"In two more weeks," she replied.  
Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "Well, that's good to hear. I guess I better get going,"  
"Yeah,"  
"See ya around, Asuka. Nice talking to ya," "Hey, Asuka, check him out," Keiko said. She was Asuka's firend. They became friends shortly after Asuka and Shinji and Rei started attending classes there.  
Asuka looked up from her desk and at her friend as she stood by the window. Her friend looked a bit like Hikari. Perhaps that's why Asuka was friendlier to her than others. "What is it?" she asked, not really wanting to get out of her seat. The school day was almost over. As the teacher continued on with the lecture, Asuka got up out of her seat and walked over to the window. By now, several other girls we there looking out. It looked like there was a fight going on outside in the courtyard. What she saw surprised her.  
"T-that's Ranma," she said. She recognized the man leaning against the tree, his arms crossed over his chest, seemingly waiting for someone.  
"You know him?" Keiko asked, "Who is he?"  
"He's Ranma Saotome," she answered without much thought, "We live in his house along with Akane,"  
"Him? He's gorgeous!" Keiko said. "How old is he?"  
"I dunno. Probably somewhere around eighty?" she said, looking out the window and at Ranma. Keiko looked at Asuka like she was on some kind of drug, "You're joking. C'mon, really, how old is he? He looks like he's twenty five or so,"  
Asuka continued to gaze at Ranma. She had to admit that Keiko was right. Ranma did look like he was in his mid twenties. She also, albeit with reluctance, had to admit that he was gorgeous. She would never mention it to him though.  
"Do you really know him?" Keiko asked.  
Asuka nodded, "Yeah."  
"Get outta here," Keiko said, "I don't believe you. You're making it up just to make yourself look good,"  
By now, several girls were by Asuka's side, listening to her, ignoring the teacher.  
Asuka shrugged her shoulders, "Fine, I don't really care if you believe me or not anyway,"  
Shinji, seeing what the commotion was, walked up to the window, "What's going on?" He looked out the window at what all the girls seemed to be looking at and said, "Hey, it`s Ranma," He waved a hand out, "Hey, Ranma! Up here!"  
Ranma looked up and spotted Shinji and waved. A second later, he stopped Asuka by the window right next to Shinji's. He waved to Asuka also.  
"H-he does know you!" a female classmate said, shocked. "He's waving right at you! I'm so jealous!"  
Asuka hmphed, but for some reason, she found herself blushing a bit.

"Why are you here?" Shinji asked, walking up to meet with Ranma. He was with Rei and Asuka.  
Ranma smiled and said, "I was on my way home from the city. On the way, I figured I might as well stop by the school and walk with you home. It was on the way. All I had to do was wait ten minutes,"  
Asuka looked back over her shoulder and saw a small group of girls nearby, all of them seemingly talking amongst themselves, most likely about the man the three children were talking to. One girl dared to walk up to Ranma.  
"Hi," she said.  
"Um, hello. Nice to meetcha," Ranma replied. He turned back toward Shinji, "If you and the others aren't busy, I figured I'd treat you all to something to eat. How's that sound?"  
"That sounds great!" Shinji smiled. He looked at Rei, "How about you, Rei? You interested?"  
"It doesn't bother me," she replied softly.  
"How about you, Asuka?" Ranma asked her.  
"Um, y-yeah. Sure," she replied a bit nervously. She was almost glaring at that girl that had said hi to Ranma. Ranma smiled, "All right. Let's go eat," He turned toward the girl and said, "Well, it was nice meeting ya. See you around. Bye,"  
Ranma, Asuka, Rei, and Shinji headed down the road and rounded a corner. But before they did, Asuka happened to glance over her shoulder and at the glaring girls. She found herself smiling a bit, knowing that those girls were staring at her enviously.

Ranma yawned as he laid down on the back porch. It was now late at night. He gazed up at the stars, remembering the constellations Asuka had taught him from a while back. The constellation of this world was the exact same as the other world.  
"What're you doing?" Asuka asked, noticing Ranma lying on the floor. She walked up to him, standing over him.  
"Um, Asuka, I don't know if you know this, but I can see up your dress,"  
Asuka kicked Ranma in the head, "You pervert!" Ranma sat upright, rubbing his cheek, "Hey, what'd ya do that for? You were the one that walked up to me! What did you want me to do, say nothing and enjoy the view?" He got up to his feet and headed toward the kitchen. "Jeez, women. You can't live with `em...and I'm going to sleep,"  
"Then why are you going into the kitchen?" she asked wryly.  
Ranma emerged from the kitchen, glared at Asuka, and then headed upstairs.  
Ranma and the others were eating breakfast.  
"There's a school dance tonight?" Akane asked, wanting to make conversation. She knew there was a dance. She remembered Shinji coming up to her and asking her for advice on asking a girl out to the upcoming school dance. Ranma looked at the children, "You have a school dance? I never knew that,"  
"It's tonight," Shinji said.  
"That's because you were dead, Ranma," Rei said softly.  
Ranma chuckled, "Yep,"  
Asuka hmphed as she entered the house.  
Ranma was in the kitchen. He heard Asuka enter. He peeked his head out the door, "Hey, Asuka," he said, ducking his head back in.  
Asuka entered the kitchen. She needed someone to talk to. Unfortunately, Ranma was the only one at home. Everyone else was out, Akane probably visiting Lisa, Shinji and Rei at school.  
She sat down on the chair. She watched Ranma's back as he went about cooking his dinner.  
"Um, what're you making?"  
"Dinner," Ranma replied, continuing to cook. "Hey, how come you're home? I mean, dontcha have that school dance tonight? Weren't you supposed to goto it with your classmate, um...Keiko, right?"  
Asuka nodded, "I was but after ten minutes of being around the boy she set me up, I told him I had to goto the bathroom and simply came home. He was so boring,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders and continued on cooking. He reached over an grabbed a small plate of sliced meat and put about half of it into the pot. He turned around, looked at Asuka, and then turned back and threw the rest of the meat in.  
"What are you going to do tonight?" she asked. "Nothing much, I'm gonna eat and then I'm going out," he said.  
Asuka's lips persed a bit, "Um, where are you going to go?"  
"To the movies. I haven't seen one of those in the longest time," he said, "Ya wanna come?"  
"No!" she quickly said.  
"All right," Ranma said with a shrug of his shoulders. He went about cooking.  
Asuka glared at Ranma. She felt extremely frustrated. Several minutes passed by in silence. After a moment, Ranma looked at her, "Is something wrong?"  
"Not really,"  
"What's wrong?" he said, "Is it because of the dance?"  
"No," she snapped, "Who needs to goto a stupid dance anyway? It's going to be the same as any kind of dance anyway. They're all the same."  
"How's that?"  
"The boys hang together on one side of the room while the girls hang together on the other side," she said, "But it doesn't matter. It's not like I like those idiot males anyway,"  
Ranma finished cooking and preparing the meal, walked up to the table holding two plates, and placed a plate in front of Asuka, "Here," he said.  
"I didn't ask for this," she said.  
"Fine, more for me," Ranma said, starting his meal.  
Asuka looked at the plate and then at Ranma, "Why did you make it for me? What if I weren't hungry? It would have been wasted,"  
Ranma shook his head, proceeding to virtually inhale his meal, and said, "No. It won't be wasted. I'll simply eat that portion too,"  
Asuka was silent. She watched him eat for a short moment. Ranma was so different from the other guys she had ever met. Every guy she had come across tried to impress her. But not Ranma. He actually showed some hostility toward her if she showed hostility toward him.  
Finished with his meal, Ranma said, "Do you want that food or not? If not, then I'll eat it,"  
Asuka's stomach grumbled.  
Ranma smirked, "I guess yer stomach answered for you," He picked up his plate and walked over to the sink and proceeded to wash it. "How come you act the way you do?" Asuka asked after a moment.  
"Where the hell did that come from?" he asked, looking at her curiously, "Why do you ask that?"  
"I'm just curious, that's all," she said, resting and arm on the table, her chin in her hand.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno. Perhaps it's because of what I've been through."  
"What have you been through?" she asked. She knew that Ranma had lost his family when he was young, but nothing much more than that. She had been meaning to ask him about that when he and her were alone. Of course, she had no idea why she never bothered asking him that when they were on the boat alone for close to a month.  
"What would you like to know?" he asked.  
"I dunno, um, how about your mother?" she asked.  
That seemed to hit a nerve and Asuka noticed. Ranma was silent for a moment, "I don't really know who my mother was."  
"Y-you don't?"  
"My father made an oath to my mother that he would raise me as a man among men," he said, giving Asuka an odd look when she was about to make a comment, "The oath was that I committ seppukku if I don't turn out like the person she wanted me to. My father failed,"  
"Y-your f-father failed?" she asked, very shocked. Although Ranma was a rather obnoxious and arrogant, it was clear that he was indeed a healthy male. Ranma was definitely masculine. Excuse this pretentiousness and it wasn't so far fetched that he would be considered a man among men. How he had failed in achieving that had Asuka very curious.  
"Well, I got cursed, and because of my curse, I was forced to avoid my mother," he said, staring straight ahead at the wall, "My mother visited the house where I lived, but she didn't even know I was her son. And I couldn't tell her that I was her son because if she found out about my curse, I would have to committ seppukku."  
"T-that's horrible," Asuka said.  
Ranma sat down, "But that's a long time ago. My...my mom died a long time ago,"  
"Did you ever let her know? That you were he son?"  
Ranma picked something up and was about to throw in at the wall. He stopped at the last moment and gently placed it down again. "No! I didn't! She went her entire life wondering who her son was...when I was standing right next to her in my cursed form. By the time I was cured of my curse, she had died already,"  
Asuka looked up at Ranma. This was a side of Ranma she had never seen. "I-I'm sorry to hear that,"  
Ranma took a deep breath, calming himself down, "It's okay. It all happened a long time ago. I can't really do much about it anymore. I can't change the past, and even if I do, I won't know what happens, not unless I stay there, which I can't because, not only do I not belong there, but I belong in this world. If I could, I would probably go back and stop the Nerima Massacre,"  
"The Nerima Masscre, the one where everyone was killed?"  
Ranma nodded as he said, "Yeah. They all died." He stood up, "Well, I don't really like talking about the past that much. I kinda brings back bad memories..."  
"So why do you do talk about it then?"  
"How else am I to get over with?" Ranma asked, "If I keep it bottled up, it'll just tear away at me,"  
Asuka was silent. She was absolutely amazed at how Ranma could change. Once second, he seemed to be torn apart from the inside, and then the next, he seemed perfectly all right,"  
Ranma turned toward the door, "Well, I'm going to the movies now. I'll see you later,"  
"Wait," she said.  
"What is it?" he asked.  
"Um, about what you said," she began, "About not keeping everything bottled up,"  
"Is there something you wanna tell me?"  
She nodded.  
"Well, if you're not busy, we can talk about it at the movies," he said with a smile.  
She smiled a bit, "Um, I guess I can go. It's not like I have anything to do anyway,"  
Ranma and Asuka left the house.  
"So, what is it you wanted to tell me?" he asked.  
Asuka took a deep breath. She was going to talk about something she had never talked about before, had told no one. Ranma was going to be the first one to hear it from her.  
"Um, it's about my own past,"  
Asuka was waiting for the movie to start.  
Ranma had left the movie theater to buy some refreshments and had said that he would be right back. As the theater became more and more crowded, Asuka looked around, hoping she could spot Ranma coming into the theater.  
"Hey, what's a nice girl like you doing here all alone?" a young boy behind her asked. He looked like he was with his whole posse of male friends. "Trying to avoid people like you," she retorted, turning around to glare at the boy. The boy looked like a street thug. He had several earings, two of them in his nose. His hair was obviously bleached blond, giving him that punk look.  
"There's a seat here on my lap for you," the boy smirked, pointing toward his private area. "How about you sit on my lap and we talk about the first thing that pops up?"  
The six boys sitting around him burst out in laughter. Asuka continued to glare at him. What a lame joke. Like she hadn't heard that before. "Get lost, asshole!" she snapped, turning back around.  
The boy chuckled and skillfully hopped forward and into the open seat to her right. "Ooh, she's a fiesty one," the boy said with a licentious grin, eyeing her chest quite fondly. Auska, for some reason, felt very uncomfortable. She knew the boy was picturing her naked right now. Sure, a lot of boys probably do that in school, but the way he was looking at her gave her the creeps.  
Ranma slowly made his way to the open seat to her left and sat down. He handed her the drink. "Here, I got ya something to drink. When's the movie gonna start?"  
"Who's he, yer boyfriend?" the boy sneered, leaning over, his mouth coming close to hers. His breath reeked of alcohol and smoke. Asuka turned toward him, feeling much more corageous now that Ranma was nearby, and shouted, "Hey, get the fuck away from me!" She cocked her arm back but had it caught by Ranma's hand.  
She turned toward Ranma, wondering why he had stopped her.  
"I've got him. I'll show him a lesson," Ranma said, "No need breakin' a fingernail on some junkie like him,"  
"What the fuck didja say?" the boy said, standing up. The six boys all stood up. They were all roughly Ranma's height, one of them even more muscular. It was obvious that these boys weren't boys, but rather young men.  
Ranma angrily stood up andglared at the boy, "I hate people like you! You think you guys are all tough because you're go around in groups, harrassing people that you think won't fight back! Well, asshole, don't think I'm gonna just stand around and do nothin'! I'll fuck you up!"  
"Yeah, right," the boy said wryly. "You, against seven of us? You're the one who's gonna get fucked up!"  
Ranma twitched a bit. He reached his hand out and grabbed Asuka's, "C'mon, Asuka. Let's get another seat,"  
Asuka gazed up at Ranma. Ranma was doing all that he could to keep himself under control. She nodded and quickly followed.  
"Yeah, take yerself and yer lil bitch of yours, get lost," another boy taunted.  
By now, most of the theater was silent, watching the little scene going about in front of them. The words could be heard echoing through the entire theater.  
"I seriously suggest you apologize," Ranma said, slowly walking up to the boy. The boy stood his ground, remaining where he was. It annoyed Ranma to hell that people could be so rude nowadays.  
"Fuck you!" the boy said with a sneer.  
Ranma twitched again but managed to say in a very calm, yet unstead voice, "A-apologize to her,"  
"No," the boy said with a smirk.  
"All right, I asked," he said, smirking. The next second, Ranma's fist shot out, hitting the boy in his solar plexus. The boy keeled over, gasping for breath. Asuka, realizing this was her opening, brought her foot up and right into the boy's private area. The boy fell forward, clutching his groin, groaning in pain.  
"Ya still want me to sit on your lap?" Asuka asked wryly.  
Ranma turned toward the other boys. All of them bumrushed Ranma.  
Without even blinking, Ranma grabbed the hurt boy off the ground and flung him effortlessly into his friends, winding all of them, sending them all to the floor. "Get lost," he said.  
The boys slowly got back up to their feet, picked up their hurt friend, and made their way out of the theater. Everyone soon started clapping. It seemed that those boys were notorius to that theater and people wanted them taught a lesson.  
Ranma turned toward Asuka, "You okay?"  
She nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine," She brought a hand up to her chest, to feel her rapidly beating heart, "T-that was exhilarating," It felt more exhilarating than defeating an Angel because she realized she had managed to incapacitate someone using her own body. Although she kenw martial arts, this was the first real time she had implemented it.  
"That's adrenaline," he smiled. "It does that to people," He looked up at the screen and noticed that the movie was going to start, "The movie's gonna start, let's get seated," He took her hand and lead her toward the seat they had originally been in.  
Asuka continued to look up at Ranma. "Um, thanks,"

Ranma and Asuka went home after the movie. "That was a good movie," Asuka commented.  
"Um, you already mentioned that on the way home," Ranma chuckled, "Didja forget we had that conversation a few minutes ago? I mean, you said it was good, I said I disliked it. You asked why. I told you,"  
Asuka glared at Ranma, getting angry, "I'm just trying to make conversation,"  
"And you're failing," he smirked. He sat down on the couch, putting his feet on the table. He grinned and added, "You ain't my mother. Don't tell me that I can't put my feet on my coffee table,"  
"I wasn't going to say anything," Asuka said, snorting in contempt. She was beginning to wish she had never went with Ranma to the movies. She looked at Ranma's feet and noticed that her school books where on the table and his feet were on them.  
Ranma followed Asuka's gaze and notice his feet resting on several of Asuka's school books. He placed his feet back down on the floor. Asuka quickly reached for the books but Ranma reached them first.  
He picked the books up and and gazed at it. His eyes narrowed on the first book as he slowly read the title.  
"Physics. English Literature. H-human sexuality?" he said, eyes raising as he read the last book. "My, how interesting,"  
Asuka blushed. She was hoping Ranma wasn't going to see that. She quickly retorted, "I-it's none of your business what I learn anyway. Give that book back!" She reached a hand out to grab it but Ranma turned his back toward her. He knew she would not climb over him to grab it.  
He opened the book up and started skimming through it.  
"Give that back!" Asuka shouted, almost pouting. She found this very embarrassing.  
Ranma handed a book back to her.  
"That's not the book!" she replied when he gave her her physics book.  
He gave her the English Literature one.  
"Ranma!"  
Ranma chuckled and gave her back her Human Sexuality book. He leaned back against the couch. Asuka just stared at the book that had just been handed to her. She was expecting Ranma to tease her some more about it.  
He reached out and grabbed the physics book and started skimming through it. "So, what do you learn in school?" he asked casually. He read a couple of paragraphs, albeit slowly, "This physics stuff sounds interestin',"  
Asuka was silent for a moment. She then said, "Um, w-what is it you want to know?"  
Ranma pointed toward the picutre, "What's this?"  
Asuka leaned forward and looked at the picture, "That's that Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider,"  
"What's that?" he asked.  
She sighed. It was going to be impossible explaining something like that to Ranma. Ranma hadn't been in school in, what, close to fifty years. She wondered why Ranma even bothered asking about something so complicated.  
"Well?" he asked, seemingly interested.  
"Have you ever heard of the Big Bang theory?"  
Ranma shook his head.  
"Ritsuko would probably be better at explaining this," she muttered. She took a deep breath. If Ranma was interested, then Asuka could at least help him out instead of criticize him. "Do you know how the universe was created?"  
Ranma thought about it for a moment and then said, "Um, didn't God create it? I remember some religious person telling me that,"  
"Well, it's written in the bible that God created the universe, but that's from a religious point of view," she said. "The Big Bang theory is the scientific point of view of how the universe was created. Pretend that before the universe existed, there was pure nothingness. Nothing existed. Now, this Big Bang theory is of how two particles collided into one another, set off a massive explosion, created chain reaction that would eventually lead to the creation of the universe,"  
Ranma seemed confused.  
"What?" she asked, noticing this.  
"Well, if nothing existed, then where did those two particles come from?" he asked. "Something must have crated those particles,"  
Asuka's eyes widened a bit. That was a very intelligent question. "Well, that's what scientists can't seem to find out. They have no idea where those particle came from. But basically, they were able to predict the universe all the way up to, I think, the forty seven millionth of a second after the Big Bang,"  
"That sounds cool. Now how is this related to that Revelation Collider Of Ions?"  
"The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider," Asuka corrected him, smirking a bit. "Ion Collider..." Ranma said to himself. After a moment he snapped his fingers, "Oh, I get it. Ion collider...as in particle collider. That Revalation Collider Thingie is trying to collide ions together to recreate that Big Bang you just mentioned,"  
Asuka's eyes widened. She stammered, "Um, y-yeah. T-that's right. Um, you already know about this stuff and are pulling my leg, right?"  
Ranma shook his head, "Nope. I've never heard of it before,"  
She paused for a moment, "Um, I'm a bit surprised,"  
"About what?"  
"That you can put it together so easily," she comment. Ranma chuckled a bit, "Well, considering how long I've been around, I guess I learned to put thing together quickly over the many years,"  
She cleared her throat and said, "Anyway, you're right. It is used to create the Big Bang. You see, when two ions collide with one another at the speed of light, the Big Bang occurs. It creates this miniscule pocket of extreme heat and density. Basically, the Collider creates something that is more dense than a collapsing star and hotter than a million of our suns,"  
"Wow...um, but why?"  
"There are these things that can only exist in that atmosphere are called quarks," she said, confident of her intelligence, "And within the quarks, there are these particles that keep quarks attached to one another. They're called glueon quarks. These glueon quarks as so small that you can fit virtually the same number of it on an atom as the number of atoms could fit in this universe,"  
"You lost me,"  
"I figured," Asuka said, "It's very complicated,"  
"I understand this quark and glueon quark, but I don't understand exactly how small a quark is,"  
Asuka was shocked. Ranma understood that? It had taken her several times to understand that. It took her longer to understand just how small a quark was. She said, "You know an atom is really small, right? Well, imagine the amount of numbers an atom can fit in this universe. Well, that's basically the amount of quarks that can fit on an atom. That number is also that high when it comes to glueons fitting onto a quark. Pretty small, ne?"  
Ranma nodded, "Yep,"  
"Y-you understand this stuff now?"  
Ranma nodded, "Yep,"  
Asuka was shocked. If Ranma wasn't pulling her leg, and he knew nothing about what Asuka had explained before now, then he was one of the brightest people she had ever met. It was clear that at an analytical standpoint, Ranma was as brilliant as Ritsuko and Sylia. It was just his intelligence in all other areas were lacking.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders. He looked at the book and slowly started reading again. Asuka watched him with amusement. After a moment, he pointed toward a word on the book. "What does this mean? Entropy? What's that?"  
Asuka shook her head, "It's too complicated,"  
"Try me," he said, "I didn't seem to have any problem understanding the Big Bang theory, that...Collider thingie, and what quarks are,"  
Asuka shrugged her shoulders. She might as well give Ranma the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he'll surprised her again. She said, "Entropy, by definition, means, an index of the degree in which the total energy of thermodynamic system is uniformly distributed and is thus unavailable for conversion into work. It also means the tendancy for things to move toward chaotic disorder,"  
Ranma looked totally confused, "Huh?"  
"Drop and egg on the floor, what happens to it?" she asked, coming up with a better way to rephrase it.  
"It breaks,"  
"Drop a broken egg on the floor, what happens? It'll stay broken. Entropy is basically the chaotic energy released when the egg is broken that can never be replenished or recreated,"  
"Like in what kinda energy?"  
"Like the sound waves created upon impact, the slight increase of heat created from the impact, all kinds of energy," she said, "Now, once this energy is released, it could never be put back. Because if it could, the egg could become whole again, but that doesn't and won't happen. That's entropy,"  
"I'm still confused,"  
"About what?" she asked patiently. She found this rather fun, trying to teach Ranma something. But then again, he was extremely bright and seemed to soak in information like a sponge does water.  
"Okay, if I drop and egg, it breaks. If I drop the broken egg, it won't form into a whole egg again. This is all due to the release of energy that can never be replenished or recreated," he said, "Well, doesn't that sooner or later, there will be no more energy?"  
Asuka nodded, "Yes. And basically, once that does happen-"  
"What will happen?" he asked curiously.  
"I dunno. I guess that means the end of the universe, of all creation," she said.  
"That's terrible," Ranma said. "We hafta find out how to reverse entropy then. I don't like the thought of the universe ending eons from now,"  
Asuka smirked, "So what? This world is expected to explode four billion years from now. What do you think we should do about that?" "That's nothing to worry about. For billion years from now, I'm sure mankind will have colonized new worlds," he said, "But, we only have one universe. It's not like we can colonize another universe before this one ends. What can we do? How can we reverse entropy?"  
Asuka shrugged shoulders and said, "It's one of the questions that can never be answered, like the meaning of life,"  
Ranma joked, "I learned what the meaning of life was, but I forgot to write it down,"  
Asuka laughed a bit. That was a rather cleaver statement. She paused for a moment and said, "Anyway, reversing entropy is like one of life's many mysteries, like the superstring, the meaning of life,"  
"The superstrain?" he asked. "I heard that before. That was what people on that other world called my blood. They called it the superstrain,"  
"No, the supersting. Not the superstraing," she corrected him.  
"What's the superstring then?"  
Asuka shifted in her sat. She wanted to get more comfortable. She said, "You know what the three dimensions are?"  
Ranma shook his head, "I dunno, up, down, left, and right? Wait, that's four..."  
Asuka giggled, "Um, good guess, but that's not it. There's width, height, and depth,"  
"Okay,"  
"The forth dimension is time," she said. "It's the act of time between the three dimensions,"  
"Okay, I still follow ya,"  
"Well, its hypothesized that there exists eleven dimensions, which is pretty far fetch because humanity has yet to understand what the fifth dimension is, let alone all the ones suceeding that all the way to the eleventh" she said, "You know width times height times depth gives us volume of that object, right? Well, that only incorporates three dimensions. There's supposed to be some kind of massive equation that incoporates all eleven dimensions. That's the superstring,"  
Ranma looked at Asuka, "Gee, you're smart,"  
She smiled a bit. "Thanks. Afterall, I graduated college,"  
Ranma's eyes narrowed, "You're shitting me,"  
"No, I'm not `shitting you' as you so crudely put it," she replied. "When I was in Germany, I graduated the top of my class. I'm considered a child prodigy,"  
He shrugged his shoulders, "Do you have one of those BO thingies?"  
"W-what did you just say?"  
"Didja get your BO? You know, your deploma,""  
Asuka giggled a bit and said, "I think what you mean to say is BA, as in Bachelor Associates,"  
"Yeah, that," he said, "Hey, waitaminute, you graduated from college in Europe, right?"  
"Yes,"  
"Don't Europe have a different form of college than the type where one would attend after high school?" he asked. "I mean, considering that Europe's got a good education thing going, maybe the college you attended is kinda like a college you goto before you goto a college, like a post high school, pre-university type school,"  
Asuka was silent. For a man who hasn't even finished high school, he knew much more than he seemed to realize.  
Shrugging his shoulders and said, "Prehaps I'm wrong. Forget I mentioned it. Hm, reversing entropy," Ranma said to himself, "I should ask Ritsuko or Lisa or Sylia about that. They're smart. Maybe they can help. I'm not smart enough to do this on my own,"  
"You are smart," Asuka commented, "I can tell. You can grasp things easily, far quicker than the next person. Even though you're an asshole, I have to admit it that you are smart,  
Ranma looked at Asuka and smirked.  
He chuckled and said, "Leave it to Asuka to compliment and insult someone at the same time in a sentence,"  
Asuka blushed.

At midnight, a sphere of light appeared, hovering in mid air several feet about the koi pond. A moment later, the sphere of light disappeared, leaving behind a lone figure in a featal position hovering in the air.  
The figure stretched his body to his full length, standing there, still hovering in the air. He walked toward Ranma's house, walking down a pair of invisible steps so he could place his feet firmly on the ground.  
He looked up at the house and sighed, "I'm home at last," The figure opened the backdoor, knowing that it had always remained unlocked and walked into the house. Upon entering, he took a deep breath, grateful to be back in his house again. Unfortunately, a sad feeling washed over him as he remembered that he would not be here for long.  
Asuka, on her way to the bathroom, turned on the light in the hallway, not wanting to stub her toe like she had done on several painful occasions. Her eyes widened when she realized she wasn't alone in the hallway, that someone else was there with her. Recognition dawned immediately.  
"Ranma, what are you doing up?" she asked. She regarded him for a second. He was still dressed in his usual red shirt and black pants.  
Ranma looked at Asuka with sad eyes. Without saying a word, he walked forward and embraced Asuka and began to sob, "I'm sorry, Asuka," Asuka stood there, shocked. Not knowing what to do. Why was Ranma holding her? Why was he crying? She had never seen Ranma cry before. She just stood there, in his arms, shocked. Not really knowing what to do, she did the first thing that came to her head and reached her own hands up and embraced Ranma back, her head pressing up against his chest.  
"I didn't mean to die on you like that," Ranma sobbed, his tears falling onto the top of Asuka's head. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to go through all the grief and suffering but it couldn't be helped. That night at the hospital had been my night to die,"  
Asuka pulled away from Ranma and looked up into his tearing eyes, "W-  
what's going on? W-what are you saying?" Her heart was starting to break. What Ranma had said had brought back those memories, memories she would rather have kepted hidden away, locked away, so it would never haunt her again. Why was Ranma bring these memories back? Why?  
Ranma composed himself and placed both hand on Asuka's shoulders and said, "Asuka, I know this is going to come as a shock to you, but I'm the real Ranma. I was the one that died over a year ago, in that hospital,"  
"W-what? W-what are you talking about?" she said, tears starting to fall. She didn't like this one bit at all. This must be some horrible anc cruel joke Ranma was playing on her, using her greatest guilt against her.  
Ranma took a deep breath, "Over a year ago. I died. I have come back to from my grave," Asuka started sobbing uncontrollably all of a sudden. "Why are you doing this?"  
Ranma was very silent for several minutes before he said, "I died, Asuka. It couldn't be helped. I'm here so you could say goodbye,"  
"I-I don't understand,"  
"I have been reborn," Ranma said, "But I have been reborn as a messenger of God,"  
At that moment, the other AngelRanma, clad in his boxers, entered the hallway, rubbing his eyes because it pained his eyes slightly from adjusting to the light all of a sudden. Although he had been half asleep, but when his eyes adjusted to the light and he saw another version of himself, that woke him up immediately.  
"What the?"  
The original Ranma stood in the middle of the livingroom. It was now about ten minutes after mindnight. Rei, Shinji, Akane, Asuka, and Ranma were all sitting on the couch, in a state of shock, but still managing to provide their undivided attention.  
"I have been reborn," Ranma said softly, pacing back and forth, "But I don't have much time on this world. I wish everyone else was here but this will have to do. Anyway, I am the Adam of this world. I am the Adam that should appear in Antarctica, but it's all different this time around." He took a deep breath and said, "From this point on, Angels will attack this world, just like how it attacked. There will be no fifteen year gap between me and the next Angel. Expect the third Angel to attack in a very short while,"  
"I don't understand," Shinji said.  
Ranma sighed, "Just listen. This is very very important. I am the Adam of this world. I have been reborn to take back Lilith...just like what the original Adam was supposed to do on the other world. The Lilith of this world is Rei. I have come to take Rei back with me...but I won't."  
Everyone was very silent.  
Ranma made sure he was a good distance away as he said, "As soon as I come in contact with Rei, everything on this world will be destroyed, like a Third Impact on the EVA world if Ryoga and I hadn't managed to stop it. Now, although I'm supposed to come in contact with Rei, I won't. That is why my time is short. Everyone, this world is going to be tested just like the other world was. The Angels will come and try and destroy this world..."  
Everyone gasped.  
Shinji stood up and said, "Why? Why is this world going to be attacked by Angels? It's well past the year 2000!"  
Ranma shook his head and said in a soft voice, "It doesn't matter. This world, just like every other world out there, will or have been tested already. It's just that within the next few months, actually three months exactly, is when the first attack will commence," He turned toward the window, gazing out it and saying, "This test will be nothing like the test we went through on the other world. The weakest Angel will be very difficult to defeat,"  
Everyone listening was was silent.  
"Just like Adam," Ranma continued, "I am also a representation of the trials to come. You must prepare for it. Do whatever you could. Evacuate the city. Do whatever. The Angels will come to this city and attack you Ranma and only you,"  
"Why?" Asuka asked, "Why this city? Why here?"  
Ranma sighed and said, "Because they will be after me...to bring me back to heaven. And if they succeed, everything will be destoryed. The Third Impact will occur. You hafta do whatever you could to stop this,"  
The clone Ranma said, "Hold up, we hafta go through all this again? We hafta repell the Angels yet again? Jeez, I've already done this three times!"  
Ranma shook his head, "Ranma, this is nothing like the other world. The Angels are very very strong,"  
"How strong?" he asked.  
"Remember the final Angel you fought?" he replied, "Saffron? Well, expect to fight Angels like him."  
The other Ranma gulped. He didn't like the thought of having to fight Saffron at all. He said, "H-how did you know about that? I mean, you died, afterall,"  
Ranma said, "Well, you know how you are an Angel? Well, you're actually part human and part Angel. I happen to represent the human part while you represted the Angel part. As soon as you came back to this world, I left your body and you became pure Angel,"  
"D-does that mean I can cause an Impact?"  
Ranma shook his head, "Only if you, an Angel, come in contact with Adam, myself. Yeah, I know, talk about really awkward situation, huh? If I touch Rei, Impact. If you touch me, Impact. Both of which means the end of the world,"  
Everyone looked at one another nervously,. "Anyway," Ranma continued, "I will be leaving,"  
"Leaving, why?"  
Ranma gave Akane an odd look, "Um, I don't wanna cause an Impact. Besides, I play a greater role. The Angels will be coming after me, to bring me back. Since my being near Rei is an obvious risk, I'll go the the most convenient place where I can't come in contact with Rei and you can come in contact with me,"  
"Where?" Asuka asked.  
"Where else? I'm going back into my old body. I going back to my grave." He said as he turned around and headed for the door. He stopped, "Ranma, take care. It's all up to you. The Angels will do whatever they could to reach me. You have to do whatever you could to stop them. Keep this in mind Ranma, only and Evangelion or another Angel could defeat the Angels. If you actually manage to find Ryoga, he won't be much help because he can't be the one that kills `em. Since Evangelions don't exist in this world, only you can defeat them,"  
The clone Ranma realized something, "Hold up. Back the truck up. What about when we...when you went back to the EVA world and defeated Adam? You weren't an Angel then. How did you defeat it?"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Who says I did? The Second Impact was prevented...not Adam's becoming an embryo,"  
"I don't follow you?" the clone asked.  
Ranma smirked, "Adam had been changed into embryo form by the seppukku blast. The enrgy from the blast seemed to negate his energy, causing him to revert to his original form. Yes, like Saffron changing back into an egg. Ranma, on world were you were born from that EVA, Adam was also in embryo form,"  
"God, I never knew that,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Well, it doesn't matter. Anyway, get ready for fourteen Angels, Ranma. And I wish you good luck,"  
Ranma said his goodbyes, assuring Asuka, comforting her one last time, telling her that he does not blame her for his death, nor should she blame herself. In a flash of light, Ranma left their lives just as quickly as he had entered their lives.  
"Ranma, are you okay?" Akane asked, concern in her voice. Several long minutes had pssed since that bright flash of light, everyone slowly absorbing what had just transpired and what would soon come to be.  
Ranma nodded a bit, "I-I'm fine. It's just that I can't believe this is all going to happen all over again...that the Angels are going to attack,"  
"It's your other self," Akane said, sitting down next to him, "Seeing your other self is what's doing this, ne?"  
Ranma looked at Akane, "I guess so. It's just damn scary...having come face to face with the version of myself. It's just that when I saw him...it reminded me of how I'm nothing much more than a clone of him," "Don't say that," Akane said, "What about me?"  
"What about you?"  
Akane took a deep breath and said, "Keep in mind that I'm also a clone,"  
Ranma was silent. He knew that. And that was what kept him stable, knowing that if Akane could deal with it, then co could he. It's just that he had no idea how to react to seeing his real self. This was by far the weirdest experience he had gone through.  
He took a deep breath. "Well, let's call everyone and tell them what had just happened,"  
Ranma called everyone he knew.  
Everyone, except Madigan, having stayed behind to watch over Jun, had arrived at the house shortly after the orginal Ranma's disappearance, all wide awake. When all of them arrived, Ranma finally decided to answer the question they had been dying to ask, `What is going on here?'  
Ranma had said, "I-I just saw my other self. He was here just about a half hour ago,"  
"Your other self?" Misato asked, "You mean the one that died?"  
Ranma nodded, "Yes, he came and gave us a message. It seems this world is going to go through the same tests that you and Ritsuko and the children have gone through. Angels are going to attack this world,"  
"Y-your other self? He came here?" Linna said. She was more shocked about that than the news that Ranma had brought. Sure, she had heard about the Angels through Misato and the others, but she had no true idea about how terrible this was because she hadn't been there to live through the experience.  
Ranma wave an impatient hand, "Yes, he came here, and he disappeared. We have much much more to worry about. Dontcha get it? This world is going to be tested! The Angels are going to test us,"  
Misato and Ritsuko were very silent. So were the children. The rest of the group spoke up.  
"But why us?" Nene asked.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "My other self had said that all the worlds will be tested. It seems it's this world's time to undergo the test now. He had come as a warning. He told us the Angels will be attacking Japan in a very short while, and that we must prepare,"  
"Why Japan?" Priss asked, "Have we done something wrong?"  
Ranma said, "He came reborn as the Adam of this world. So the Angels will be attacking Japan in hopes of bringing him back with them to heaven,"  
"The other Ranma's alive? And in Japan? Where is he?" Sylia asked without takinga breath. "We can ask for his help,"  
Ritsuko said, "I don't think that's possible. Ranma here is an Angel. If the other Ranma came in the form of Adam, contact with him would cause this world's destruction. Also, the other Ranma can't really do much in terms of fighting because if he comes in contact with any Angel, that would mean the end of this world,"  
"Oh my god," Lisa gasped. "That's horrible. What are we going to do?"  
"What else? We prepare ourselves to stop these Angels," Ranma said, "And no, we don't have fifteen years to create Evangelions and get ready. It seems these Angels will be attacking very very soon,"  
Everyone was silent.  
Ranma, realizing that everyone was pretty much in a state of shock, came up witht he plans, "Here's what we do. Since I'm part Angel, Ritsuko, Misato, Lisa, the three of you can take my wings and find a way of creating an Evangelion from them,"  
"How? How the hell are we going to fund the creation of an Evangelion? All the money in Japan won't be enough to create one," Ritsuko said, "On our world, the whole world contirubted to the EVAs construction so they could prevent the Angel. Everyone in this room is the only one that knows of Angels coming. No one is going to believe us,"  
Ranma gritted his teeth. That was very true, "Damn, I know. They're all gonna think we're nuts," He snapped his fingers. "Here's what we do. I'm gonna take the nanban mirror and use it to go to the other world, the world I was from. Since we don't have the time to create and Evangelion, I'm gonna steal one,"  
"The nanaban mirror?" Shinji said, "You can't. Ryoga took that with him,"  
"Why the hell did he take it? For what?" Ranma asked, shocked. This was not good.  
Everyone was silent.  
Ranma realized something, "Oh, waitaminute...that doesn't matter. I have that mirror that I used to get back here. Problem solved. I use that mirror to retreive Unit-01 and the other EVAs. Anyway, Ryoga is bound to shows up sooner or later...when he does, tell him to meet me on the other world and help get those EVAs."  
"We have no way of telling," Ritsuko said, "Ryoga's been gone for close to a year. We haven't seen him since then,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoudlers, "Well, let's just hope Ryoga shows up sooner or later. We could use his help." He headed for the stairs. Everyone waited in the livingroom for several minutes before Ranma came down, wings protruding from his back. They all gave him a puzzled look, wondering what he was up to. Ranma said, "Priss, Rei, Asuka, Linna, Shinji, the five of you will try and find a way to evacuate the city. Misato, Akane, if and when Ryoga shows up, tell him of our situation. But in the meantime, try and find him, that is, if he is still on this world. Nene, Sylia, Lisa, Ritsuko, the four of you should go about and try and recreate the MAGI so it would help us detect the Angels. It would help out greatly if we knew what kinda Angels we're fighting and when they're attacking. Carper, you and Madigan can go about having Ranma's grave dug up and placed in Genom's old boomer factory that's under the heart of this city where Ryoga and Akane and I had attempted suicide to destroy that supercomputer. Since those Angels are after this world's version of Adam, we'll use that huge city-like factory as this world's version of GeoFront,"  
Ritsuko's eyes widened, "That's brilliant," She remembered Ranma telling her about that factory, about how huge it was.  
"In a situation like this, you hafta be brilliant," Ranma smirked. At this moment, everyone realized that Ranma had the smarts where it counted. They were all grateful for that and wondered how he was able to keep calm and in control when something as dire as this was going to happen.  
"Um, what are you going to do?" Akane asked.  
Ranma reached into his pocket and pulled out the nanban mirror he had used to get back to this world.  
"I'm gonna go go fetch us an Evangelion"  
Ranma smirked and then left the house.  
A moment later, a bright flash of light could be seen.

"We dont' know," Ritsuko said, "We'll probably get rid of them. Now that there are no more Angels that will attack, we have nothing to worry about anymore. They'll probably be put in a museum to signify mankind's triumph over the Angels,"  
Ranma got an idea and said, "Hey, if you're not gonna really be needing them, why not let me have Unit-01? I kinda got attached to it. I like the thought of having something like that by my side. Besides, it would come in quite in handy if, say, Adam decides to pay my world a visit, ne?" "That sounds rather far fetched," Maya commented.  
"I doubt anyone would appreciate that," Ritsuko said, "Unit-01 is probably worth more than the entire city of Tokyo. You can't simply explain its disappearance without someone pointing blame toward someone,"  
"Oh well, it was worth a try," Ranma replied. He hopped up onto railing, balancing on it skillfully. While standing on the railing, he turned around to face everyone "I guess my work here is done."  
"Wait," Misato said, stepping forward. "C-can you do me a favor before y-you leave?" She wanted to at least kiss him goodbye. Sure, he may be incredibly arrogant, but she had grown quite fond of him.  
Ranma opened his wings and hovered backwards into the air, smiling warmly. "I already know what you want me to do. Don't worry, I already know. And yes, I like you too, quite a bit as a matter of fact,"  
Misato blushed. She found tears forming around her eyes. Ranma was really leaving, and he was never coming back.  
"Tell Asuka, Shinji, Rei, and Yui that I was very happy to meet them," Ranma said, continuing to hover backwards. If he looked down, he would be able to see the ground several hundred feet below. "Tell them everything about me,"  
"We'll do that," Gendo said, nodding.  
Ranma bowed while in mid-air. "Take care everybody, it was fun,"  
"You too, Ranma," Misato said, waving goodbye. Everyone else soon said their goodbyes.  
Ranma reached into this pocket and pulled out the nanban mirror. He let a tear fall from his eye as he looked into the mirror. When the tear touched the mirror, Ranma was immediately enveloped in a bright light. A moment later, Ranma disappeared.  
A moment after that, Ranma reappeared.  
Everyone immediately recognized the man hovering in the air before them. They just stared at him, in a state of shock.  
Ranma smiled, "I'm back,"

"Y-your world in going to be tested?" Ritsuko asked, very shocked. She and everyone else were in Gendo's office.  
Ranma nodded, "Yep. Remember what I said, that it would come in quite in handy if Adam decided to pay my world a visit? Well guess what, Adam showed up and my own world is gonna get tested,"  
"Y-you've got to be kidding me," Misato commented, "Your world is going to get attacked by Angels? How do you know?"  
Ranma nodded, "Yep, Angels are gonna attack my world and I wanna prepare. And Ranma was the one who told me,"  
"I'm confused," Kensuke said, developing a headache. He couldn't understand how Ranma could tell himself that the Angels were coming?  
"It's a long story," Ranma said, "Heck, everything's a goddamn long story,"  
Everyone paid Ranma their undivided attention.  
"First off, I've been back to my world for a short while." He began, "Even though only one second has elapsed on this world before I came back, I've been on my world for several days before I came back here. Anyway, while I was back there, I found out some pretty disturbing things,"  
"Like what?" Hikari asked.  
"Okay, all of you guys know that I'm a clone, right?"  
They all nodded.  
"Well, it turns out that my original self," he continued, "after he had gone back home, had died. It seems my true self actually died preventing the Second Impact. Hold up. Lettme continue first and then you can ask the questions later. Its seems a year has passed since he had died and when I came back. Anyway, he came back to life and is and was considered the Adam of my world. Even though you don't really know, the Adam of your world came in the form of a massive giant that seems to be made of light. Well, the Adam of my world came in the form of my original self. Well, because he came, that signified that the Angels will soon be following. My other self, I'll call him Adam. Adam came and told me and my friends that our world is gonna be tested and that the test is going to be very very different from the test that this world undergone,"  
"In what way? How is it different?" Gendo asked.  
"Okay, you know the Saffron Angel? Basically, I was told that the upcoming Angels will be similar to him," Ranma said with a shudder, "Even though none of you have actually seen him or fought him, that Angel was a monster and I do not, I repeat, do not, look forward to having to fight him again. Here's a question, which Angel do you consider the hardest Angel?"  
"The forteenth Angel, the Angel that Unit-01 took in," Misato said quickly. Everyone seemed to agree. No Angel had come closer to succeeding or had that powerful of an AT field.  
"Well, picture the weakest Angel being as strong as him," Ranma said, dead serious. When everyone said nothing, not knowing what to say, Ranma continued on, "And above that, this world had fifteen years to prepare for the first Angel. Well, on my world, we only have a few months,"  
"God, that's terrible," Kensuke said, "How in the world will you be able fight Angels like that?"  
Ranma said, "That's why I'm here, I need Unit-01. If possible, Unit-00 and Unit-02 also. Heck, I would bring the entire Nerv Headquarters with me if I could but I'm pretty that's not possible. Right now, as we speak, my friends are back home working their hardest at preparing for the attack,"  
"Oh god, I'm getting a headache," Gendo commented, pinching the ridge of his nose.  
"So here I am, asking for Unit-01," Ranma said, "Can you give it to me?"  
"W-we can't," Gendo said, "We just can't."  
Ranma got a bit angry, "Um, do you have ANY idea how much trouble world is in? We have only a couple of month before the Angels attack and we have NO Evangelions! Heck, we don't even have a MAGI that would detect it!"  
"Ranma, if you take Unit-01, we're all going to be blamed," Misato said, "We will most likely be executed,"  
Ranma sighed, "Oh man, talk about an awkward situation...without Unit-01, we're screwed. If we get Unit-01, then you're screwed. Oh, I know, come with me...to my world."  
"What?" everyone said.  
Ranma nodded, "Yes. All of you come to my world. That means you'll hafta put your life on hold...but it's all for a good reason...you're out to save the world. Ain't that a good enough reason?"  
"Wait," Ritsuko realized something, "Can't we let him take Unit-01. He could simply return to our world once he's finished using it. He could come back only one second after he's left. That way, no one will know it was ever taken,"  
Ranma said, "I've thought about it before but I can't do that."  
"Why not? That could work," Misato said. She had to admire Ritsuko. That was a rather good idea. No one would know.  
Ranma shook his head, "Yes, it could work but there's only one problem..."  
"And what is that?" Maya asked.  
"What if I die?" Ranma said seriously, "What if we lose? No one will be around to bring Unit-01 back here,"  
"You won't lose," Misato said.  
"C'mon, get real, Misato," Ranma said, almost annoyed, "I may be cocky-"  
"All the time," Ritsuko added.  
Ranma gave Ritsuko wry look and sighed and said, "Fine. I may be cocky all the time, but I still hafta keep my feet on the ground. Think about it...I've already died once...at least, my real self has. If dying doesn't let you know that you are not as immortal as you think you are, then you're in trouble. Well, I've realized that I am very capable of dying and I want to be more cautious,"  
Everyone was silent.  
"Wait, how about you do this?" Ritsuko said, coming up with another idea, "Why don't you use your nanban mirror to travel into our future. By then Unit-01 would most likely be in a museum. That way, when you steal it, no one will suspect that we have anything to do with it. Better yet, if you reappear in our future, perhaps our technology would have advanced so much that we would be able to create some kind of second generation Evangelions,"  
"Unit-01 seems more like a second generation EVA," Misato commented, "Considering how much more superior it is to Unit-00 and Unit-02,"  
Ranma smirked a bit at Misato's comment and turned toward Ritsuko, "Yes, that sounds like a good idea but it's not possible. I can't use the mirror to go into the future. I can use it to go back to the future I came from, but not in the future that never happened. So I guess that plan's down the toilet,"  
"Why not let him have it? If Unit-01 doesn't come back, then so be it, we'll be executed," Misato said, "At least we'll know we've been executed trying to help Ranma and his world out..."  
Ranma gave Misato a weird look, "You don't know me do you? I won't take it unless there is a surefire way that none of you will suffer the consequences of my taking Unit-01,"  
"Basically, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place," Ranma commented.  
"What are you going to do?" Misato asked.  
Ranma turned stood up, taking the mirror out of his pocket, "Since I can't get an Evangelion to help me out, I'm going to do the next best thing," "And what's that?" Ritsuko asked first.  
"I'm gonna go ask my enemies to help me,"

In flash of light, Ranma appeared high over the the massive courtyard of the Palace of the Musk Dynasty. It was somewhere around noontime. "Gee, I left that world when it was dark but now it's light out," he commented, "Perhaps I haven't gotten totally used to perfecting the use of the nanban mirror. I should practice using it some more,"  
He looked around, subconsiously folding his wings close against his body and commented, "This doesn't look like the Musk Dynasty I know. This looks a lot like one of those ancient Chinese castles," He knew the location was right, but what he was seeing was different.  
A man landed in front of Ranma, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. He had black hair and black eyes. He was clad in wolfskin clothing and was wearing what looked like a cap that resembled the scalp of a wolf. Wether it was a cap or actually part of the man's head, Ranma had no idea.  
Ranma smirked, "Well well well, if it isn't wolf boy Mint?" The man before him had a great resemblence to a wolf and had this aura of power surrounding him. He smirked, wondering how much better of a fighter Mint was, now that roughly fifty years had elapsed. He assumed Mint had been practicing all this time. It seems he remained young looking, only seemingly aging several years since Ranma had last seen him so many decades ago.  
The man looked at Ranma, eyeing him curiously. After a short moment, recognition dawned. "Ranma?"  
Ranma nodded, "Yep,"  
Mint sneered a bit, "It's been a long time. And where did those wings come from?"  
"Yep, it has been a long time. As for the wings and how I got `em, it's a long story," he said. He cleared his throat. "Um, I'd like to talk to Herb,"  
"Let's fight first," Mint smirked, "I haven't had a good fight in ages,"  
"I'll beat you," Ranma smirked back, which seemed to shock Mint.  
Mint chuckled, "My my, aren't we arrogant today? You seem confident of yourself. Very well, let's fight and find out,," Ranma shook his head, "No thank you. I'm not here to fight. I've come here to ask for help,"  
That seemed to shock Mint. "H-help?"  
He smirked, "Yep"  
Ranma walked down the huge red carpet that was laid out in front of him. To his left and right he could see massive column that held the ceiling high above. The entire throne room was massive. There were several hundred servents, all of them on one knee facing toward Herb, heads held low, as Ranma walked up to him as he sat on his throne, now the supreme emperor of the Musk Dynasty. "Hey, Herb," Ranma smiled. He looked around and at the bowing people. He then turned back at Herb and took a deep breath and bowed, albeit slightly. "Jus' so you know, I'm bowing to you because I need yer help. Other wise, I wouldn't,"  
Herb smirked a bit, "Well, Ranma. I haven't seen you around in a long long time. What brings you here of all places?" His eyes narrowed a bit when he noticed the wings jutting out Ranma's back.  
Ranma followed Herb's gaze and realized he had been looking at the wings. He said, "It's a long story on how I got these wings. Anyway, I've come to ask for yer help," He was swallowing his pride. But then he realized something, "Um, remember when that mountain collapsed on you? Well, um, you owe me a favor. I have come to ask for that favor," He smiled weakly.  
Herb regarded Ranma for a long moment. There was something very different about this Ranma than the one he had fought so many years ago. This Ranma was much more mature, and there was this unseen hidden power he seemed to possess.  
He asked, "What do you need my help for?"  
Ranma took a deep breath, "It's a very long story,"  
"I have the time,"

Ranma and Herb stood outside in the courtyard, alone, gazing up at the night sky. It was now a few hours past sun down. Ranma had pretty much spent all his time here explaining everything, Herb nodding as he listened intently, asking some questions from time to time and making comments too.  
"You died?"  
Ranma nodded, "Yes. The Ranma you fought died over a year ago,"  
Herb was silent. This came a quite a shock, even more than when Ranma had said that he was a clone of the real Ranma. "I'm pretty much a clone of him," Ranma said, "He died saving someone's life so it wasn't a death in vain,"  
"Um, h-how did he die?" Herb asked.  
Ranma was silent for a moment and responded, "He died shortly after he came back from that other world. His heart had been punctured by a broken rib and it eventually stopped. He died saving someone's life,"  
Herb was silent. "Well, at least he didn't die in vain," he said. Upon hearing that, he had to give Ranma his utmost respect. Ranma was very honorable to have die saving someone's life. "That is what counts,"  
"Anyway, last night, the real Ranma appeared and told me that our world is going to be tested," Ranma said, "Our job is to stop these messengers of God from retrieving Ranma and bringing him back with them to heaven,"  
"The real Ranma is to be brought to heaven?" Herb asked.  
Ranma nodded, "Yes. This is all part of this world's test. If we fail and the Angels succeed in coming in contact with Ranma, then our world will be destroyed with it. I don't care if you are a decendant of a ki-  
dragon, Herb. Everything will be destroyed,"  
"Well, we must stop this from happening then, won't we?" "So you'll help me?" Herb nodded and said,  
"I would have helped you regardless,"

Ranma and Herb soared through the air at an intense speed, both on their way to Mount Pheonix. They were high up in the air, well above the clouds. The clouds could be seen shooting past them, creating almost a blur of white.  
"How long do you think it will take for Mint and Lime to get to Japan?" Ranma asked, having to shout a bit to be heard over the roaring winds as they ripped past him and Herb.  
"About two days," Herb replied. "By then, we should have found the other two you were looking for, Saffron and Taro,"  
"That's good to hear," Ranma commented, staring straight ahead. "Actually, we'll only ask Saffron. I have no idea where Taro is right now,"  
They continued flying through the air effortlessly. After several minutes of silence, the only sound heard being the winds, Herb asked, "So, how do you like flying? You said you've only had those wings for a short time,"  
Ranma replied, "It's pretty fun. I could get used to this ability to fly. Of course, I'm not all that efficient in using these wings to their full potential. After, it's not like I can go flying around over Japan whenever I like. People can have heart attacks seeing things like that,"  
"You've changed, Ranma,"  
"Not really," he replied, "I've always put the safety of others above my own,"  
"That's very honorable,"  
Ranma and Herb hovered high above the ground. It was no nearling daylight, Ranma and Herb flying throughout the night to reach their intended destination.  
"That's Mount Pheonix," Ranma said, pointing. "That's Saffron's village,"  
He was pointing at a village on the top of the mountian. The mountain had very sheer cliffs and was probably near impossible to get to through any means other than flying. The village looked rather ancient looking. However, it had this aura of power emanating from it that both Ranma and Herb could sense.  
"Let's go," Herb said, used to being the one in command, already giving Ranma orders.  
Ranma smirked, "What every ya say, yer majesty,"  
Herb smirked and then chuckled, "I'm a emperor now. I guess I got used to it,"  
"Well, I suggest you get unused to it," Ranma grinned, "Considering where you're going to be for the next few or so months, you're going to have to get used to people not treating you like a emperor anymore,"  
Herb was silent for a moment but nodded and said, "Yes. I'm well aware of that,"  
Ranma chuckled a bit, "Wait until you meet Asuka,"  
"Why?"  
"You'll see," he chuckled. Herb chuckled weakly, not really liking the way Ranma was laughing. He was a bit worried about who this Asuka was. Ranma had mentioned about him bring an Asuka back to this world with him along with several others, but he had never mentioned how they acted.  
The two chuckled for a short moment before they stopped. Sensing something, they immediately hovered away from each other, just as a massive ball of flame ripped past the area where the two of them had been.  
Herb and Ranma looked down in the direction toward the projectile's origin. They both saw a lone figure standing in the middle an open area within the village. A moment later, wings emerged from the firgure's back and began to flapp, carrying the figure up into the air to the same altitude as Ranma and Herb.  
Ranma smirked. Herb's eyes narrowed.  
Saffron had a sneer on his lips.  
"Well well well, if it isn't Ranma?"

Ranma and Herb and Saffron were in a very awkward position.  
Herb and Ranma both had a hand forward, palm open and right toward Saffron's head.  
Saffron had both hands up, one palm pointing toward Ranma and the other one toward Herb.  
"My my, isn't this awkward," Saffron smirked.  
"Yes, quite," Ranma said slowly.  
"I can kill the both of you without breaking a sweat," Saffron sneered.  
"Don't be so sure of it," Herb said, smirking "If you can kill us both, why do you hesitate?"  
"I am merely curious about why you're here, Ranma," Saffron said, turning his attention toward Ranma. The one thing that he was most interested in finding out were how Ranma got those wings and now possessed the same ability to fly like himself.  
Ranma took a deep breath. "I don't wish to fight you, Saffron," he said. He remembered fighting another version of Saffron and the thought of this Saffron being every bit as strong as his scared the hell out of him. There was no Unit-01 here to help out like last time and he had no real idea how skilled Herb had gotten over the many years. It had actually taken quite a bit of willpower for Ranma not to go beserk and simply attacking this Saffron blindly. He resented Saffron quite a bit because he looked identical to the final Angel that had been intent on killing him not too long ago.  
Saffron said, "If you don't want to fight, then why are you here?"  
"We have come to ask for your help," Herb answered for Ranma. He noticed that there was something about Ranma that made him a bit edgy around Saffron, as if Ranma was trying to hide this intense resentment toward the demigod with wings.  
"I'm not going to help you," Saffron sneered, "I will never help you. You are my enemy. Heck, I should kill you right now because of that,"  
Ranma took a deep breath, forcing himself to block away his resentment toward Saffron. This Saffron isn't the final Angel I had fought, he kept thinking over and over to himself. He is not the same person. He is not that kind of monster. He will not kill innocent people like that other Saffron.  
Ranma said, "We may be enemies, but I suggest we put our differences aside. This world is in grave danger,"  
Saffron's eyes widened a bit. That seemed to have caught his attention, "Oh? What do you mean by that?"  
"Herb, put your hand down," Ranma said, slowly pulling his extended hand away from Saffron's face, signifying his willingness to trust Saffron. Saffron was very surprised at this. He gritted his teeth for a moment and pulled his hand down by his side. Herb, following Ranma's advice, did the same. Saffron reluctantly pulled his extended his hand away from Herb and down to his side.  
"What do you mean by that?" Saffron repeasted, "What do you mean by this world being in grave danger?"  
"This world is going to be tested by God," Ranma said softly, "These messengers of God, called Angels, will be appearing in this world in a matter of just a few months,"  
"How?" Saffron asked, eyeing Ranma carefully, trying to determine if he was lying or not. "How will we be tested?"  
"We will be forced to fight for our lives and existence,"  
Saffron was very quiet.

Ranma and Herb and Saffron stood in the middle of a massive room. Where every they were, Ranma and Herb knew they were somewhere within the massive mountain where the Pheonix Village stood upon. They had followed Saffron down to the village and through a massive double door that led into the mountain.  
They were already in the middle of a conversation, asking one another a series of questions.  
"Although I transformed into an egg, I had retained my memories," Saffron said, his voice showing a bit of contempt. "That is why I still remember you...and our fight,"  
"Oh," Ranma said. There was a moment of awkward silence.  
"Well, Saffron, are you going to help us or not?" Ranma asked, "We have to put our differences aside and all fight together,"  
Saffron eyed Herb, "I'll only put my differences aside for now with you Ranma. But who are you?"  
"I am Herb of the Musk Dynasty," Herb said confidently.  
"The Musk Dynasty," Saffron said, "I have heard of that. So, you are the Supreme Emperor, huh?"  
Herb nodded.  
"I have heard of you," Saffron said, "I have heard you are quite a powerful opponent,"  
"More powerful than you," Herb said wryly.  
Saffron sneered, baring his teeth. "You're nothing more than an amateur compared to me,"  
"If you think you scare me," Herb said with a smirk, "Then you're wrong,"  
Ranma sighed impatiently. Well, I might as well look on the bright side, Ranma thought. At least the both of `em aren't teaming together to fight against me. He shrugged his shoulders. He had other things to worry about besides Saffron and Herb. If the Angels were even remotely as powerful as that final Angel Ranma had fought before he came back, this world was in trouble.  
He watched as Herb and Saffron started to through insults at one another, wondering if all hell was going to break loose, the two of them eventually fighting each other. Ranma wasn't all that bothered. There were must more things to worry about than Herb and Saffron fighting each other. And that problem was called Angels.  
His stomach grumbled.  
"I'm hungry,"  
Ranma chuckled, "Saffron's gonna have a shit fit when he realizes that I left him and Herb in that room so I could look for food,"  
When Ranma realized he had been hungry, he tried to interrupt Saffron and Herb's shouting match to askign Saffron if there was anything to eat. When Saffron ignored him, Ranma had simply shrugged his shoulders and left the room, hoping to find a kitchen.  
None of the guards that partolled the hallways seemed to have bothered him, all of them having seem Ranma walking with Saffron earlier. Besides, seeing those wings on Ranma, they never suspected that he was an outsider.  
Ranma was now in the kitchen area of the palace. He looked over at the corner of the room and at the large white object that stood there. He didn't even want to know where the hell the refrigerator had come from, let alone the outlet to plug the thing into. He was inside a mountain!  
When he had tried to understand how, he got a headache. When his stomach had rumbled again, Ranma had opened the fridge and took out whatever looked edible.  
After having eaten, figuring that he should get back to Herb and Saffron, Ranma left the kitchen. He walked down the rocky hallway for a short while before his eyes widened as he recognized he beautiful winged female standing in front of him. "K-Kiema!" It was definitely her. She had short white hair and was wearing a outfit that looked like a fancy looking leotard, which didn't help one bit in concealing her long slender legs. There was a scabbard that held a sword handing from her side.  
Her eyes narrowed as she recognized Ranma, "Ranma!" She had just gotten back from a trip to Musk Village. Since her two bumbling servants seemed to always be incompetent and not wanting to risk Herb knowing about Saffron's eventual invasion of the village, Keima had gone to the villiage herself to observe this man named Herb that she had heard about. Of course, when she arrived there, he was nowhere around, making her realize that she had travelled all the way from Mount Pheonix to Musk Village for nothing.  
She had been hungry from that long flight and had been on her way to the kitchen to get something to eat.  
Without even bothering to ask why Ranma was here or where he came from, she pulled her sword out of her scabbard and slashed at Ranma. The blade struck a still sleepy Ranma right on the top of his head. Keima's eyes widened when she saw this red barrier appear just millimeters above the area where the blade would have struck, rippling for a short moment like the ripple in a tranquail pond.  
She brought the blade back up and brought it back down at Ranma's head.  
Ranma yelped out in pain when the blade had first struck, which seemed to have awaken him, and put a hand up and caught the blade between his index and middle finger, "Jeez, that the hell didja do that for?" He rubbed the top of his head with his free hand for a moment. He then looked at Kiema and grinned. He flicked his wrist, breaking the blade from its handle. His eyes narrowed at Kiema as she took a nervous step back. He reached a hand out and grabbed her arm as she held it out in front of her, expecting Ranma to punch her.  
Ranma smirked.  
"W-what are you doing here?" she gasped, her heart beating rapidle. She hadn't seen Ranma in several decades and then all of a sudden, he popped up out of nowhere, and in the palace. How did he get in here in the first place? Where was Saffron?  
Ranma regarded Keima for a moment. She had remained very young looking over the many years, seemingly having stayed the same age since he had last seen her. But one this he did notice was that she had gotten quite beautiful over the years. She wasn't just pretty anymore, but was more along the lines of gorgeous. His eyes lingered down at those long slender legs of hers. Keima blushed as she realized Ranma's eyes were lingering on her legs and slapped him, "You pervert!" "Why you!" Ranma sneered. He released his grip of her hand and looked up at the wall where he saw rows of torches that lit the corridor. He smirked at Keima as he held a hand out. A moment later, he jerked his arm quickly back toward his body, generating a vacuum blast, a blast of wind seemingly enveloping the nearby area. The fire on the torches flickered for a short moment before it went out, the corridor becoming virtually pitch dark. There were only a few torches still lit on the end of the corridor and it provided only a slight amount of lighting, but not enough lighting for Keima to see since she couldn't see at all even in slight darkness.  
"That's what ya get for trying to chop my head off," Ranma smirked. Even though he could easily see her in what little lighting there was, he knew Keima couldn't see him.  
Keima's heart was racing as she held her hands out in front of her, feeling for the walls. She was at a serious disadvantage.  
Ranma chuckled. This was actually fun. "Keima, you're pretty, I think I'm gonna take advantage of you," he said. He smirked as he noticed her blush a horrible shade of red.  
Keima was glad it was very dark. That way, Ranma couldn't see her blush again. As she felt around for the wall. That bastard's playing mind games with me, she thought angrily. Well, he won't fool me.  
"I'm staring at yer breats right now," Ranma chuckled. He walked up to the wall and leaned up against it, foling his hand behind his head and looking at nothing in particular.  
"Don't you dare you pervert!" she shouted, still feeling around. She now had one hand in front of her and the other one covering her chest. She couldn't believe what was going on. Was this the Ranma she knew? This couldn't be him. But then again, it had to be him. She definitely recognized his handsome face shortly before the corridor plunged into darkness.  
"I'm taking my clothes off," Ranma continued his teasing. "Once they're off, I'm gonna light this room back up,"  
"Don't you dare!" she shouted. She finally found the wall. She turned around and pressed her back against the wall, sliding down into a sitting position, covering her face with her two hands. She didn't want to see him naked. "Get away from me,"  
"That's why you changed yourself into Akane," Ranma continued, "Because you believed we were fiancee and wanted to see me naked. That's very sly of you,"  
"N-no! That was not it!" she said. Ranma raised a hand and a small sphere appeared above it, lighting the corridor in a bright light. Kiema kept her face buried in her hands, not wanting to peep. "You can open look up now,"  
"No, I won't," she said. Ranma turned around and headed out the corridor, "Perhaps that'll teach you not to try and chop my head off,"  
He rounded around the corner.  
"Damn, she's cute," he commented to himself.

Ranma entered the massive room and saw Saffron and Herb still talking to each other, throwing insults at one another.  
"Hey, are you two still fighting?" Ranma muttered, annoyed, "We have more important things to worry about...like the end of the world for instance,"  
Saffron and Herb turned toward Ranma, glaring at him for interrupting them.  
Ranma gulped and said in a nervous voice, "Hold up, before you guys start throwing fireballs and ki-blasts, keep in mind that we have these things called Angels to worry about,"  
That seemed to have gotten Saffron and Herb's attention.

Ranma, Saffron, Herb, and Keima flew through the air, just mere feet above the ocean, heading toward Japan. It seems that after very much talking, Ranma had finally convinced Saffron to help out, to call it a turce between him and Herb so they could all work together for a greater cause. Kiema had come along, Saffron believing her intellect could help out greatly. Ranma had simply shrugged his shoulders and said "The more the merrier. We need all the help we could get anyway," Besides, it's not like Ranma wanted to go against Saffron anyway. Although Ranma was plenty strong, he preferred not to get on Saffron nor Herb's bad side. As the groupe flew through the air, there seemed to be this tangible tension between everyone and Ranma knew it. He and Keima were flying ahead. Just behind them were Saffron and Herb. Without needing to look, Ranma knew that Saffron and Herb were glaring at each other, wanting to fight one another. Perhaps it was his arrogance, but the one thing Saffron and Herb had in common was that they were both extremely strong and were defeated by Ranma. It seems like they wanted to fight each other because they could feel each other's incredible aura.  
For some reason, they both seemed to ignore Ranma, as if he was weaker than either one of them, thus, not requiring the time and effort from the omnipotent likes of them. But then again, they knew Ranma was a clone, and didn't like the thought of fighting a copy of the person that had defeated them so many years ago.  
As Herb and Saffron continued to glare at each other, Keima was glaring at him. Even though she couldn't see that well at night, Keima could see Ranma clearly in the moonlight that shown down on the world. And she didn't like him one bit, not after what he had did to her back there in the hallway. She would get back at him tenfold.  
"You like what you see?" Ranma smirked. That was one thing Ranma knew he was good at, teasing.  
Keima's eyes widened. She quickly said, "As a matter of fact, no! Not one bit! You'll pay for what you did to me back there,"  
Ranma smirked. She was a bit like Asuka. This was going to be fun. He could see the open hostility she had toward him. It was very much like Asuka's. The only difference was that the open hostility was very much like the hostility Asuka had for him back then, not now. Now, she didn't detest him...just disliked him.  
"Are you cold?" he smirked. He flew underneath her so that he flying upside down, looking up at her. Keima was confused and asked, "Cold? Why do you ask?" "The front of your outfit shows otherwise," Ranma smirked.  
Keima blushed a horrible shade of red. Like any other self-consious female, she quickly crossed her hands in front of her chest. She scowled at him. "I'm going to kill you,"  
Ranma smiled, "I'd be honored to die by your lovely hands," This is so fun, he thought to himself.  
Keima blushed again. This was like no opponent she had ever gone against. Ranma was a lot smarter than the one she knew. There also seemed to be this masculine confidence to him that disturbed her. It had disturbed her terribly that she had actually found Ranma attactive. Attractive or not, she was still going to kill him.  
"Can I ask you a question?" he asked nicely, smiling. "No!"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "All right. Nevermind," He turned back around and faced forward, flying right side up now. He maneuvered himself so he was now flying by Kiema's side instead of below her. He looked straight ahead.  
Keima looked at Ranma. After several minutes, curiously got the better of her, and she asked, "What?"  
"Nothing," he replied, "Forget I asked,"  
"Tell me,"  
"Well, I was just curious," he began, "Have you ever been to the beach before?"  
Keima looked at Ranma oddly. She decided it was a harmless question and answered, "No. I haven't. I've never been to the beach before,"  
Ranma smiled, "You're gonna love it,"  
Ranma and the others arrived at MegaTokyo sometime in the morning. The four of them all hovered down and landed in the backyard of Ranma's home. Upon landing, Ranma walked forward and toward the back porch where the three children emerged to greet him.  
"Ranma, you're back," Shinji said, smiling, "Did you get Unit-01?"  
Ranma shook his head, "Sorry,"  
"Welcome home," Rei said softly. "Didja get Unit-01 or did you screw up?" Asuka asked, smirking.  
Herb walked forward and gazed at the children. "I am Herb of the Musk Dynasty," he said in a magestic voice. He bowed politely. Saffron stepped forward, "I am Saffron of Mount Pheonix," He guestured toward Keima, "And this is Keima, my advisor," He only nodded his head in acknowledgement. Keima bowed.  
The three children gazed at the three people, a bit confused. Where did they come from? Where was Unit-01?  
Ranma smikred and said, "This Shinji, Rei, and Asuka. They're my children,"  
"C-children?" everyone nearly shouted. Herb and Saffron and Keima were the most surprised. They had noticed Ranma had changed but had never figured Ranma would have settled down and started a family, let alone have three children.  
Ranma chuckled, "I'm just joking,"  
It was night now time. Ranma, Akane, Herb, Saffron, Keima, and the three children were gathered around in the livingroom. It was getting late into the night.  
"So that's pretty much our situation right now," Akane said. She had explained everything that had happened in the past couple of days that Ranma had been gone. Ryoga still remained missing and nowhere to be found, a plausible evacuation still in the porcess of being developed, and nothing much on the creation of the MAGI.  
Ranma smirked, "Well, with the MAGI, we're in luck,"  
"Oh?" Akane said.  
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a hand full of notes, putting them on the coffee table. He continued to do so until there were several dozen sheets of paper scattered all about. The kids picked up the notes and looked at them.  
"What are these?" Asuka asked, trying to decipher the notes.  
"They're notes on the MAGI," Ranma said, "Remember that computer virus Angel that Ritsuko had told us about? Well, while I was on that world, I remembered about that and how she told me she had to work on the MAGI and had seen notes scattered about on the mainframe that her mother had written before she died,"  
"That's really smart," Rei commented softly, "These notes will help Ritsuko and the other greatly,"  
He smiled, "Pretty slick, ne?" He tapped his temple several times, "Y'see, I'm getting better at usin' the old noggin', ne?" When everyone just gazed at him, he decided it was time to change the subject, "Well, I'm gonna call the others in the morning to let `em know of our situation and give these notes to `em about the MAGI. Since the day's pretty much over, let's sleep on it. I'm dead tired,"  
"Um, where will you three sleep?" Shinji asked, referring to Saffron, Herb, and Keima.  
"Saffron, you and Keima could sleep together," Ranma said, yawning, "Herb, you can sleep in Shinji's room. Since you're like a ki master, you can show Shinji some stuff about ki because he's trying to learn it,"  
Saffron stood up and sneered, "What makes you think you can tell me what to do? You're just a mortal,"  
Ranma sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "All right, Saffron, you chose. Where would you like to sleep. All the rooms are occupied except for one?"  
Saffron looked at Ranma for a long moment. He looked around at everyone and then said, "Keima and I shall sleep in the same room,"  
Keima blusheda bit. Her and Saffron? Sleeping in the same room? She had never dreamed of something like that. Ranma's eyes narrowed, "Saffron, I think it's time we get something straight here,"  
Saffron sneered, "Oh?"  
"There are innocent people that living in this neighborhood, people with families," he said, "You have to keep this in mind. You can't go around throwing fireballs because people will die, and I'm pretty sure you're not that kinda monster," He kept his temper under control. The other Saffron that killed innocent people was an Angel, not the Saffron standing before him. "Am I right?"  
Saffron nodded. Even he had a sense of honor. "Of course. I would never allow innocent people to die. I'm not some kind of monster. In case you're wondering, Ranma," he said wryly, "I, too, have changed over the years. I'm not like the Saffron you remembered,"  
Ranma nodded after a long moment, "Well let's hope so,"  
Ranma was soaking in the bathtub late at night. He couldn't sleep because his back was soar from having to fly such a great distance. He figured a nice warm bath would help relax him. He was right. After having been in the bath for more than five minutes, he was so relaxed he was in trouble of falling asleep while still in the tub.  
As he was about to get out, the door opened. He was surprised to see Herb, who only had a towel around his waist.  
"Herb," Ranma said, a bit surprised, "What are you doing in here?"  
"I want to take a soak," he replied. He smirked, "Is that okay with you, yer majesty?"  
Ranma chuckled, "Yeah, sure. Hop on in. Take a load off. The water's fine. You're sure making yourself feel at home,"  
Herb slipped into the bathtub. "Making myself feel at home, not likely,"  
"Oh?"  
He sighed as he laid down in the bathtub, enjoying the warm sensation surrounding his body. After a moment, he said, "Well, you know I'm the emperor of the Musk Dynasty, right? Well, although living in a palace has its benefits, but I can never really enjoy the simple things...like simply taking a soak,"  
Ranma chuckled, "Ah, you must be one of those `Poor rich people',"  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"Even though you're an emperor and all, you're unhappy because you would rather be just a regular person," Ranma commented.  
Herb's eyes widened, "H-how did you know that?"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "I feel the same way,"  
"The same way? How?" Herb asked, a bit confused and curious.  
"It's kinda hard to explain," Ranma began, taking a deep breath, "You are now what you have been destined to be an emperor. Now that you're a emperor, you kinda wish you weren't because it was actually fun being the prince, having a goal, right?"  
Herb nodded.  
"That's the same thing I felt with find a cure to my curse," Ranma said, "Even though I had other things to worry about, my true goal was to get cured. Well, it's been about a decade since I've been cured...about twenty five years if you count the fact that I spent fifteen years of my life within an EVA. But anyway, now that I have been cured, I kinda get bored,"  
Herb smirked, "I get bored also,"  
"I mean, there are other things to keep me busy," Ranma continued, "like training to be a better martial artist, taking care of Asuka, Rei, and Shinji, going back to school one day...but they don't seem as worthwhile as looking for the cure to what used to be my curse. What about you?"  
Herb nodded, "It's the same way with me. I have attained my goal also, and now I wonder what other goal to set. There is little much else to do for me nowadays aside from training and running my kingdom,"  
Ranma chuckled, "I assume that's why ya jumped at the chance to help me out,"  
Herb nodded, "Yes, I did. I want to get my hands dirty. I enjoyed our fight,"  
"I assume that why you and Saffron wanna fight," Ranma smirked, "You actually wanna fight him just so you could fight him, ne?"  
"You've got me," Herb chuckled, "Hey, what can I say, I liked our fight and wouldn't mind having fights similar to those,"  
Ranma smiled, "Same here. Those were the good old days,"  
"Speaking of the past," Herb began, taking a short moment to pause, "About all that we've been through, I apologize for what I have done to you, locking you in your cursed form, nearly putting you throug hell. It was all because of something so petty as a rivalry,"  
Ranma laughed, "Hey, no need to apologize about it. Let's just be glad we're alive to talk about and even joke about our past,"  
Herb cracked a smile. Ranma smirked, "You've changed quite a bit over the years,"  
"You too," he replied. After a short moment of silence, Herb asked, "About our fight, exactly why did you save me after our battle? Why didn't you simply let me be buried alive and die?"  
As Ranma got out of the bathtub, he said, "Because I put other lives above my own. Is my way of life. And if I were to ever die a second time, I would want to die doing the same thing,"  
There was a moment of silence.  
"Hey," Ranma began, "Didja know that Saffron likes Keima?"  
"He does?" Herb asked, "How do you know?"  
Ranma smirked, "I can tell. It's just that Saffron doesn't know it yet,"

Ranma was on his way up the stairs, finished with his bath, as Saffron was on his way down.  
"Saffron, what are you doing up?" Ranma asked, a bit surprised.  
Saffron just looked at Ranma for a short moment and then turned his gaze away and headed down the stairs.  
"What, ya couldn't sleep?" Ranma smirked, "Is the fact of sleeping in the same room as Keima keepin' ya up?"  
Saffron turned toward Ranma and grabbed him by the neck. He would have grabbed Ranma's shirt collar if it weren't for the fact that Ranma was only in his boxers. He sneered at Ranma and said, "It is none of your concern, mortal,"  
Ranma just gazed at Saffron and said, "I thought you've changed,"  
That seemed to catch Saffron off guard. He released his grip, curiosity getting the better of him and asking, "What makes you say that?"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said, "I thought you've grown up over the many years. You seem to still hold some resentment toward me," He bit his lower lip as her realized he was being a hypocrit. He, too, had some resentment toward Saffron. It was because of that final Angel he had fought, the Saffron that had killed innocent people with no remorse.  
Saffron laughed coldly, "Resentment? I don't hold any resentment toward you...not anymore,"  
He gritted his teeth when he said that. "How come I have the feeling you're lying?"  
Saffron sneered, "I resent the man that defeated me. He died...so I no longer hold anymore resentment,"  
Ranma was silent. "You're nothing but a mere clone of the man that defeated me," Saffron said, looking straight ahead. "Get out of my way,"  
"You resent the fact that my real self died," Ranma said.  
"What?"  
"You resent the fact that my real self died saving someone's life," Ranma said.  
"Bah, I don't understand what you're talking about!" Saffron said, "You're making no sense at all!"  
"You hated me...hated my real self, right?"  
"With all my heart," Saffron sneered, "I wanted to be the one to have killed you,"  
Ranma looked right at Saffron, "Now I know,"  
"Know what?"  
"You resent yourself," Ranma said, "You resent yourself for hating Ranma,"  
"What the hell are you talking about?" Saffron said, nearly shouting. "I don't resent myself! How dare you say something like that!"  
Ranma didn't back away. He continued on speaking, "You resent yourself because all these years, you hated the real me. Only, now, you found out and realize that Ranma had died doing something that...doing something that can make you not hate him. You resent yourself for hating someone that died saving another,"  
That seemed to have hit Saffron's soft spot. Since he flinched, it actually showed that he had one. It seems that Ranma's assumption was wrong. Saffron had changed. He wasn't as cold hearted as he used to be.  
Saffron took a deep breath and headed on down the stairs.  
Ranma watched him for a moment. But before Saffron was out of earshot, he said aloud, "Your resentment for Ranma? Well, I may not be the real Ranma, but I know he will forgive you,"  
Saffron heard.  
Hovering high above the air, Ranma and Herb and Saffron and Keima gazed at each other. The tops of the clouds could be seen several hundred feet below them. It was early in the morning. They were currently practicing against one another and kept shooting ki-blast and fireballs at each other, trying to hit each other. The object of this practice was to eliminate the other two opponent by hitting them it a projectile while they tried to dodge and attack back with their own projectiles.  
Keima didn't take part in the training. She was there to observe and see if there were any weaknesses in anyone's form.  
The projectile had to be moderately weak, nothing obscenely strong that would explode and cause half the world to be turned into a fine powder. It had to be weak enough that the other opponent would survive the attack when hit.  
It had been Ranma's idea. They had to prepare for the Angel expected to attack. Herb and Saffron didn't seem to be at all reluctant in partaking in this kind of training, the both of them wanting to test each other. When the training had begun, Saffron and Herb simply attacked each other exclusively, leaving Ranma dumbfounded and wondering what he should do.  
Shrugging his shoulders, he started to volley both his opponents with ki-blasts, the both of them attacking back in no time.  
Ranma was easily the first to be eliminated, hit twice, one projectil from Herb and one from Saffron. It stung like hell when one blast erupted against his back, propelling him forward into the ncoming projectile, the blast erupting against his chest. Luckily for him, his AT field had prevented him from getting more hurt than he expected. However, even with the AT field dampening the projectile's effects, they were still powerful enough to hurt him a bit.  
It seems Ranma wasn't as agile with his wings as he wanted to be. He moved nowhere as swiftly nor as quick as Saffron and Herb. He ended plummeting to the ground far below, able to make a somewhat skillful landing when his wings finally decided to work, allowing his to hover down to the ground.  
He landed in the backyard. Akane emerged from the house a minute later. She said, "What happened? I thought you were training. Where is Herb and Saffron?"  
Ranma pointed stright up into the sky, "I've been eliminated. They're battling each other right now. When one of the eliminates the other, they come back down," He headed for the house, smelling something good in the air, "Hey, whatcha cookin'? It smells delicious,"  
Akane smiled a bit, "I'm cooking a simple breakfast. And thank you,"  
"Where's Shinji and the other two?"  
Akane said, "They're still asleep. It is early, afterall,"  
Shrugging his shoulders, Ranma went into the house and to the phone and dialed in the number for Ritsuko and Lisa and Misato's apartment.  
"Hello?" Misato answered the phone. She sounded like she was still half asleep.  
Ranma smirked, "Misato, you sound very sexy,"  
That seemed to wake Misato right up. Ranma's voice seemed to be quite a nice voice to wake up to. She said, "R-Ranma! You're back! Hold up!" Ranma could hear Misato calling out to Lisa and Ritsuko telling them that Ranma was back from his trip.  
"When did you get back?" Misato asked excitedly, "Did you have any trouble getting Unit-01?"  
Ranma sighed, "Yes, I did. I couldn't get it. However, I got a very good substitute. Anyway, if you and Ritsuko and Lisa aren't busy, can you come on by the house? I managed to get the notes on the MAGI from the other world so it should help out quite a bit developing a MAGI for this world. Also, there are three people here that I would like you all to meet...five if Lime and Mint get here on time,"  
"Lime and Mint?"  
"Don't worry about it, it'll all be explained," Ranma said in a pleasant voice, "Anyway, if you're not busy, can ya swing by the house? If not, then I guess I could swing on by."  
"We can stop by the house," Misato said, "We'll be there in about an hour, is that good?"  
"Yeah, that's fine, I'll see you later," he said, about to hang up.  
"Hold up,"  
"Yeah, what is it?"  
Misato smiled, "Do you really find my voice sexy? Does it turn you on?"  
Ranma sighed. "Hello?"  
"Hello, Sylia," Ranma said.  
"Ranma, you're back," she said warmly. "It's good to hear from you again,"  
Ranma quickly got to the point and said, "Can you call the others and ask them to come on by the house if possible? We have a bit to catch up on. Also, I have three people, possible five people that I want to introduce the gang to. Misato, Ritsuko, and Lisa will be here in about and hour. Anyway you can do that? Will they all be able to come?"  
"Yes. We'll all be there in an hour," she said warmly.  
Madigan pressed the button to her answering machine.  
"Hey, Madigan, Carper, Jun, if you're there, pick up the phone. It's Ranma," Ranma's voice emanated from the machine, "Hello, anyone there? Hey, pick up. Oh well, I guess you're not home. Anyway, I jus' wanted to call to letcha know that I'm back and everyone expected to meet at my house in about an hour, which would around seven thirty. I have a few friends I hafta introduce ya to. Anyway, if you could make it, drop by. If not, then perhaps next time," After hearing the message, Madigan walked over to Carper who was still dead asleep on the king sized bed, and gave her husband a gentle nudge.  
"Honey, wake up,"

Everyone arrived at Ranma's house at the expected time, even a sleepy Jun, whom had to be carried by Madigan. They all gathered around in the backyard.  
"So, what's so important that you wanted to show us?" Ritsuko asked first, getting comfortable and sitting down on the porch. "And who are the three people you wanted us to meet, we don't see them,"  
Ranma grinned. He walked into the house and emerged a mintue later carrying a small folder and handed it to Ritsuko, "While I was on the other world, I picked up the notes for the MAGI. It should make making a MAGI much much easier,"  
Ritsuko's eyes widened, "Oh my god, I totally forgot about them! This is great! We will be able to recreate a similar MAGI using these notes in no time! How did you remember to get these? No one reminded you,"  
Ranma grinned, "Hey, there was no need to remind me. It's just that while I was there I realized it,"  
"So, how did retreiving Unit-01 go?" Linna asked, very eager. She and everyone else that wasn't from the other world we dying to see this superpowerful machine. It remindeded her of a massive and omnipotent superboomer.  
Ranma shook his head, "Not good. I didn't get it."  
"Why not?" Sylia asked.  
"Don't worry, I found some substitues," Ranma said with a smile, "And there are two more on their way here. I'm still missing one person and don't really know where to find `em,"  
"What do you mean?" Misato asked.  
"Misato, you and Akane haven't found Ryoga yet, right?" Ranma asked. When they chook their head, he said, "Well, there's another person I want you to add to your list. His name is Pansuto Taro,"  
"P-Pansuto Taro?" Asuka said, chuckling a bit, "W-what kinda name is that?"  
Ranma said in a serious voice, "I suggest you not, I repeat, not make fun of his name. He will probably kill you if you do. He's kinda sensitive about that."  
Asuka was silent. "Anyway, Misato, Akane, do you two think you can find his whereabout?" he asked. "Taro, if he's still alive, which I'm willin' to bet on it, should be living somewhere either on Japan or China,"  
Misato nodded, "Well, it'll be hard, but we should be able to find him, whoever he is,"  
"Gee, I kinda wish we never exposed Genom, we could sure use the boomers for cannon fodder," Ranma said to himself aloud. The though had suddenly popped into his head. When everyone looked at him curiously, he said, "Nevermind. I was just thinking to myself. Anyway, back to the subject, I have three people I would like you to meet. Two more are on the way,"  
"Um, where are they?" Ritsuko asked again.  
Ranma pointed toward the air and said, "Right now, they're in the middle of training. I'll go tell `em to stop so I can introduce them,"  
He opened his wings and lepted up into the air. Everyone watched as he rocketing up toward the heavens, disappearing beyond the clouds.  
"I want wings like that," everyone seemed to comment at once.  
Herb and Saffron and Keima were introduced to Ranma's friends.  
"Yes," Ranma said, rather annoyed, "They tried to kill me also,"  
Misato smirked, "You and your aquaintances seem to constantly meet through unusual cicumstances. We met you because we thought you were an Angel. Sylia and her friends tried to kill you. Lisa hit you in he face with a brick. Madigan and Carper sent robots out to kill you. And now Herb meets you how?"  
Herb smirked, "I changed Ranma into his cursed form and locked him in it,"  
Ranma quickly jumped up and said, "No, don't tell no one. The less people that know, the better,"  
Priss smirked, "We know,"  
"What's Ranma's cursed form?" Shinji asked, very curious. He had been dying to know. "Sorry, kid, can't tell you," Priss said regretfully, "We swore to Ranma that we won't reveal his curse unless he wants us to and we intend to keep that promise,"  
Shinji seemed to pout, "That sucks,"  
"How about you, Saffron? How did you meet Ranma?" Misato asked. Saffron smirked a bit and said, "I tried to kill him,"  
"Man, you meet people in the strangest ways," Misato commented, smirking.  
Everyone started laughing except for Ranma.  
"Hey, it's not always my fault that that happens!"

Ranma looked up at the sky and saw on huge balloon. It was still morning and everyone had been about to leave, on their way to preapring for the upcoming Angels. Herb, Saffron, and Keima had been introduced without problems, getting to know Ranma's friend's somewhat well even in such a short encounter. Herb had told the group about how two people were expected to arrive at any moment. They had been saying their goodbyes when Ranma spotted the ballon.  
"Hey look, Lime and Mint are here," he said, pointing.  
Eveyone looked up and saw the balloon.  
"T-they came all the way from China in a balloon?" Shinji stammered, shocked. He and Rei and Asuka were about to go off to school, but for some reason, they really wanted to stay behind. For some reason, Ranma's aquaintances were very interesting people.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "What's wrong with that? It sure beats swimming,"  
"I'm getting a headache," Linna said, "S-swim? From China to Japan? No one can swim that far,"  
"Make a bet?" Ranma said with a grin. He turned toward the children, "Asuka, Shinji, Rei, you should go on to school. I'll come by and pick you guys up and explain everything to ya later. All right?"  
"Fine," Rei said softly.  
"Um, all right," Shinji said, nodding after a moment.  
Asuka reluctantly nodded. "Fine,"  
The children left for school, while the adults stayed behind. When the balloon was directly above the house, two figures jumped out of the balloon, landing skillfully in front over everybody. When they saw Herb, he got down on their knees.  
"We have arrive, Herb-sama," Lima and Mint said respectfully.  
Linna looked at Herb and raised an eyebrow.  
Ranma jerked a thumb toward Herb and said, "Don't worry, Linna. Herb's an emperor,"  
"Really?" she said, eyes wide, "He never said he was an emperor,"  
Herb turned toward Ranma, "Ranma, why did you say that? I don't want to be considered an emperor. Remember that talk we had last night?"  
Ranma smiled weakly, "I'm sorry. I forgot,"  
Herb sighed, "Nevermind. It's too late anyway," He looked at Lime and Mint, "You two can get up now. No need to bow,"  
"Is that real tigerskin?" Linna asked, eyeing Lime's outfit. Even though he was for animal's rights, she had to admit that that tigerskin looked rather nice.  
Lime blushed a deep shade of red, "Um, y-yes. It is,"  
"Mine is wolf's skin," Mint said, stepping forward, showing it to Linna, hoping she would be interested.  
Herb introduced everyone to Lime and Mint and vice verse. "Lettme guess," Misato smirked, "You met Ranma because you tried to kill him,"  
Mint said, "Not really. I met Ranma through my enemy Mousse. I was trying to kill mousse,"  
Lime said, "And I met Ranma through my enemy Ryoga. I was trying to kill Ryoga,"  
Ranma sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose again.  
"I'm gettin' a headache again,"

Ranma, Lime, Mint, Saffron, Herb, and Keima stood infront of the new erected gravestone deep underground, withing the city-like factory that used to belong to Genom before they had been exposed of their evil to the public. Everyone else have gone on with their day of doing their required task.  
The undergound city looked very much like a GeoFront except there was nothing around but a single grave. The place had been barren or structures of anything else ever since Ranma and Ryoga had used their seppukku blast to destroy that supercomputer before it self destructed.  
"Well, this is where my real self lay," Ranma said. "Madigan and Carper had my body moved from the MegaToky cemetary to here,"  
"Why?" Saffron asked. He didn't look at Ranma. He continued to stare at Ranma.  
"Because, if an Angel makes it this far, we have on last chance to destroy it," he answered, "We would do whatever we could to destory it. Although the city above us will be evactuated, we still have to worry about destory everything because people have homes and businesses. At least down here, we could go fullpower to destroying the Angel...and worse case senario, we cause this entire GeoFront to collapse in ourselves and kill the Angel along with us,"  
Everyone one was silent. "I know. It's dangerous," Ranma said, "I already mentioned that before. We could very well die fighting these Angels. I've fought one and I couldn't even touch him. In the process we, actually he ended up nearly destorying half the entire city,"  
"It's quite a burden," Lime commented.  
"Oh?" Ranma asked.  
"To have the weight of the survival of mankind and every living creature on this world on our defeating the incoming Angels on our shoulders," Lime said. His face was sullen as he stared at the grave. "Yeah, it's quite a burden," Ranma said, "I've already been through this twice, three times in fact. The way you can think of it is as this world's last stand and only us and the people you've met are the ones that know about it. When it comes down to it, if we fail, the world dies,"  
"Quite the burden indeed," Saffron commented.  
"We still have more people to look for. The more people we have fighting against the Angels, the better," Ranma said, changing the subject.  
"Who else?" Saffron asked first.  
"Taro and Rouge," he replied, "But as of right now, we don't know where they are. Besides, we have other things to do first,"  
"Like what?" Mint asked, silent til now.  
"We have a Nerv Headquarters to build,"

Ranma wiped his forehead. Building a Nerv Headquarters was hard. Resting against his shoulder was a massive steel beam, which probably weighed several tons. He was slowly making his way toward one of the few buildings that would lead down to what used to be Genom's underground factory, GeoFront as Ranma now called it. He and the others were currently taking apart the abandonned slums, the part that hadn't been destroyed by Ranma's seppukku blast when he wanted to show Ryoga of a new technique. Keima and Lime and Saffron stayed in the slum, taking it apart bit by bit while Herb and Mint and Ranma did the brunt of the work of actually porting the steel beams and whatnot all the way down to GeoFront. Actually, Keima seemed to be in charge over everything, telling Lime and Saffron which buildings to knock down for the beams.  
"Man, my back's killin' me," Ranma commented. He wondered how long it will take before there were enough. Herb had no trouble bringing th steel beams underground because he didn't even need to touch the beams, his ki doing the carrying for him. It seemed to be as light as a feather, floating in front of Herb as he proceeded back and forth the building and the slums. Mint was having a bit of trouble though. Since he wasn't as strong as Lime, he only carried one beam at a time.  
Herb was on his way back toward the slums and saw Ranma, "Having trouble, Ranma?" he asked, smirking a bit.  
"No, not really. Aside from the fact that my back is just killing me," Ranma smirked "my feet are hurting, my shoulder feeling fried, and all my muscles are aching, I'm just fine and dandy. Actually, to tell you the truth, it feels good," Herb smirked, "Well, I'm actually enjoying this. This is the first time in years I've actually done work,"  
Ranma smiled, "Well, what can I say? Like you said, being an emperor and all, you eventually miss the regular things, and regular, down and dirty physical labor could actually be one of `em. That's how I feel,"  
Herb chuckled, "Um, well, I'm gonna go get more. See you later,"  
"Later,"

Ranma and the others stood outside the children's school.  
"Why do we have to wait out here?" Saffron asked, "I think it would have been better if we stayed behind while you came and picked them up,"  
"Hey, let's see you say that if you were the one lugging around the steel beams back `n forth," Ranma muttered, "It's so easy what you do. All you do is send a damn fireball into a building and blow it up,"  
Saffron's eyes narrowed at Ranma.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Well, it doesn't matter. In a couple of weeks, we would have enough resources to build this world a Nerv Headquarters,"  
"And then what?" Lime asked.  
"What else, we wait," Ranma replied.  
"What about this Taro and Rouge person?" Mint asked, "Didn't you say we should go look for them?"  
Ranma shook his head, "We can't. We have no idea where they are. It would be much much easier with Taro and Rouge around also. Of course, we're stuck waiting for Misato and Akane to finding `em,"  
"How come we're here to pick up the three children also?" Keima asked. She couldn't understand. Ranma could have done this on his own.  
Ranma smiled, "Hey, we're on break,"  
The bell rang and a minute later, a bunch of school children emerged from the double front doors of the school. Shinji and Asuka and Rei immediately saw that group and walked up to them.  
"You all showed up," Asuka muttered. She didn't look like she was in a good mood, never even to see Ranma and the others. She was annoyed from opening her locker and finding it full of meaningless love letters, like always. That had got to stop.  
"How is everything going?" Shinji asked. He noticed that everyone seemed to be a bit dirty, some debris and such on their clothes. When his gaze fell on Keima, he blushed a bit and looked else where.  
Keima noticed that the young boy seemed to have developed a crush for her. She smiled a bit. She found it rather flattering.  
Standing next to her, Saffron's eyes narrowed a bit.  
Ranma smirked. So, Saffron is actually getting jealous, Ranma thought. We'll let's see how good I can play matchmaker.  
"Everything's going fine," Ranma replied, "We all started using the abandonned slums for scrap and parts. We'll put up a Nerv Headquarters of our own in no time,"  
"A N-nerv Headquarters?" Asuka asked, shocked, "I-is that possible? How do you expect to build something as large as that?"  
Ranma smirked, "Hey, you'll be surprised what we can do,"  
There was a moment of silence.  
"You guys hungry?" Ranma asked aftera moment, "We're all on break so we figure we'd go get something to eat. We could pay Akane and the other's a visit,"  
"Sure," Shinji said.  
"It doesn't bother me," Rei replied.  
"Well, let's go then," he smiled.

"Do you think Akane and the others are going to come?" Rei asked softly.  
She and the group were gathered around a table in a restaurant that Ranma suggested.  
Ranma shook his head, "Nope. They're busy doing what they hafta do," He motioned for the waiter. When the waiter came, he asked for something to drink. Everyone else asked for drinks also, following Ranma's lead. When the waiter left, Ranma picked up the menu, everyone else doing the same.  
"Whatcha guys gonna have, I'm gonna order my favorite," Ranma said with a smile. He turned toward Keima, who was sitting next to him and made a suggestion on what to order. Asuka's eyes narrowed toward the two of them. She was sitting on Ranma's other side, not that she bothered complaing about the seating arrangement. Ranma's never suggested an order for me before, she thought, a bit angry. What's so special about her? Who cares anyway? It's no like I'm getting jealous or anything.. I mean, it's Ranma, afterall and he's nothing but an arrogant, sexist jerk.  
Saffron, who was trying to read the menu, glanced toward his side and saw Ranma talking to Keima. What are they talking about, he wondered. His eyes narrowed.  
Keima looked at the menu, "I have never heard of these meals before,"  
"Well, everything on the menu tastes good." Ranma replied with a warm smile. "I can make suggestions if there's anything you're allegic to,"  
"Hey, what about us?" Mint asked stupidly, "Why're you only paying attention toward Keima there,"  
Ranma turned toward Mint and smirked, "Because I would much rather pay attention toward someone beautiful like her than someone as stupid as he is strong,"  
Keima blushed. Mint got up, teeth showing, "What did you say?"  
"Mint, sit down!" Herb commanded. He knew exactly what Ranma was doing. Although he had barely noticed it at first, Ranma was paying keen attention toward Keima over anyone else, wich seemed to make Saffron actually jealous. As to why Ranma was constantly doing this, Herb couldn't tell. At least not yet.  
Mint gritted his teeth and then sat down.  
The waiter came back around with the drinks. He placed the drinks around the table. Everyone ordered and when the waiter left against, they were left to indulge themselves in some more chit chat. Ranma seemed to be the most adept one at the table in doing so.  
"Keima, have you seen any good movies lately?" he asked warmly.  
"Um, n-no," Keima said nervously, "I-I know what they are but I've never seen one before,"  
"I know of this really great romantic comedy that you would probably love," Ranma said. Everyone around the table seemed to just watch Ranma, admiring his keen social skills, while he simply ignored them, especially an angry Saffron. "I-I would?" she asked. She felt very odd. She had never been in a situation like this before. She had never had attention like this before. Sure, her two servants listened to her and did her bidding, but this was different.  
"Yeah." He smiled, "Heck, how about this? When we're finished, with our work tomorrow night, I'll take you to the movies. Just you and me,"  
Saffron stood up, seemingly glowing, "That's enough!"  
Everyone turned their attention toward Saffron.  
"Enough?" Ranma smirked, knowing that his little plan was working, "Whatever are you talking about?"  
"I do not want you and Keima going to the movies!" he spat back, brows creased. It looked like Saffron was ready to kill Ranma.  
"Do you object to us going out? You don't want us to date?" Ranma said slowly, chosing his words. He noticed that Saffron's social skills were definitely lacking. Perhaps it was because he pretty much lived at Mount Pheonix most of his life and had never been in a situation like this before.  
Keima looked up at Saffron, her eyes widening. A rosy hue came to her cheeks. Saffron noticed this and somehow became extremely nervous under everyone's gaze, esepcially Keima's. "Um, er, yes, I do object to you two dating!"  
Everyone was silent as they stared at Saffron. Saffron took a deep breath and held his chin high. "I won't allow someone like Keima date the likes of you!"  
Keima was getting a bit confused. Was Saffron looking out for her like caring brother or like a commanding and stubborn father? She hoped it was the former...at least the caring part that is.  
Ranma held his hands up defensively, "All right. I won't date her. But then, she's going to miss out on a very good movie and the movie will probably no longer be showing when the week's over,"  
"Then I will take her to the movies," Saffron said quickly. He had no real idea what he was saying. All that he knew was that he was angry at Ranma and didn't want him to be with Keima. She didn't deserve someone like Ranma. She deserved better.  
Three waiters came tot he table, all three of them carrying trayfuls of food.  
"All right, Saffron, then you take her to the movies," Ranma smirked at Saffron. "I will,"  
Ranma grinned before he turned his attention toward the food.  
"All right, let's eat,"  
"I think Ranma has just duped me into taking Keima to the movies," Saffron realized. He was alone on the rooftop of Ranma's house, lying on his back and looking up at the night sky. He and the other's had gotten back from the slums about an hour ago. It was strange. Even though he had never done something so menial as knocking down a building for resources, it actually felt fun. On several occasion, he even smiled, concealing it when anyone glanced in his direction. Ranma head popped up by the side of the roof, startling Saffron. Without thinking, Saffron fired a fireball at Ranma's head, missing it when Ranma quickly ducked it back down. The fireball shot forward before it arced up toward the clouds where it disappeared.  
"My my, aren't we jumpy?" Ranma smirked, hopping up onto the roof.  
"I knew it was you," Saffro sneered, "That is why I aimed for your head,"  
"So that means if Keima's head popped up instead of mine, you wouldn't have shot that fireball?" he asked seriously.  
Saffron was silent. What would he have done if it had been Keima? She could have been killed.  
"Aren't ya gonna thank me?" Ranma asked with a smirk.  
"Thank you, for what?" Saffron asked, hopping up to his feet.  
"For you and Keima of course," Ranma grinned, "You and her are going out to the movies because of me. You should thank me for that,"  
Saffron sneered.  
Ranma continued to smirk, "I saw the way you were getting when you saw me being all nice to her. You were getting jealous,"  
"I was not!" Saffron snapped, "It's just that she deserves better than the likes of you,"  
"Like who? You?"  
Saffron blushed.  
Ranma pointed at Saffron face and started laughing aloud, "You're blushing! I saw that! See, I knew it. My plan was right!"  
"I'm not blushing! And plan, what plan?"  
Ranma walked closer and said, "Hey, I dunno if you know this, but Keima cares for you,"  
"Because she is my caretaker," he responded.  
"Well, perhaps you didn't notice but when I assigned for you and Keima to sleep in the same room together, she got very very nervous, what do you think that means?" Ranma smiled, "She likes you and has feeling for you. If she's just your caretaker, than what would she have to be nervous about?"  
Saffron was silent for a moment before he said, "I dont believe you, Ranma,"  
"Fine, don't believe me if you don't," Ranma said with a shrug of his shoulders, "I was just trying to help you out,"  
Ranma lept off the rooftop, leaving Saffron alone with his thought.  
Knowing that no one was watching, Saffron smiled a bit.

Everything went without a hitch. Three weeks have already passed and everything seemed to be going along find. Everyone was shocked at how well Ranma, Saffron, Herb, Lime, and Mint worked together at building something, Keima pretty much telling everyone where certain pieces went. By the end of the third week, a quarter of Ranma's interpretation of Nerv Headquarters had been built. It was basically a pyramid roughly half the size of the real Nerv Headquarters. What made the headquarters so easy to build was that it housed only several room. There were only several rooms, the largest one being the control room, a room that would be considered the infirmary, several smaller room that would be used as an office or sleeping chambers incase anyone wanted to spend the night there, and several miscellaneous rooms that would be could be used for anything. The rest of the building was composed of complete steel. "Oh man, I forgot about that part," Ranma said.  
Everyone glared at Ranma.  
"How in the world can you forget to add something as important as that?" Lime said.  
"Um, do we really need it anyway?" he asked, a bit nervous. "And for your information, I'm new at this. Let see you design a whole freakin' headquarters. I've never done this architech thing before. Anyway, is it really important? Should I look for a place to add that in?"  
"Yeah," Keima said.  
"Can't we just use the bushes if we hafta goto the bathroom?"  
"No!" everyone said. "Good news," Misato said in a happy voice. Everyone was gathered around on the back porch of Ranma's house. On Mondays and Thursdays, everyone would meet up at Ranma's house to explain their current situation with their tasks and to simply wind down a bit and enjoy each other's company. "What's the good news?" Ranma asked.  
"We found this Taro you've been looking for," Misato said, "Actually, it was more like Nene found him,"  
"Where?" Ranma asked, his eyes lighting up. "We could use all the help that we can get,"  
"Where, he is currently residing in Hokkaido under the name Ryu Taro," Nene said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a little piece of paper that had an address on it.  
"Ryu? Are you sure you've got the right person?" he asked, "His name's Pansuto, not Ryu,"  
Nene nodded, "Yes, it's definitely the right person,"  
"How do you know?" he asked, curious.  
Nene smiled a bit, "It wasn't that hard. It's just that I never really thought about it until just recently. Anyway, you know how we all kind of chuckled when we heard his name?"  
"Yeah," Ranma said, "And if you did while he was around, he would probably kill you. He's very sensitive about his name,"  
"Well, that's what got me thinking," she replied, "Misato stopped by my work the other day to see if we had his name in our computer banks, but we didn't. We came up with a massive list of names that would be pretty much taken forever if we went about searching for that one person. So, since you mentioned that Taro is very sensitive about his name, we assumed that he would have most likely changed it to avoid ridicule,"  
Ranma scratched the back of his head, "But how? I mean, the only person that could change his name for him is this lil pervert named Happousei, and he died during the Nerima Massacre. So what gives?"  
Nene shrugged her shoulders, "I assume since that Happousei person is dead, then he is free to change his name to whatever he wants. Anyway, you mentioned how Taro wanted some cool sounding name, right?"  
"Yeah, he wanted some crazy first name like Mr. Cool or Handsome," Ranma said with a smirk.  
"What's wrong with Ryu?" Nene said, "Isn't having a name that means Dragon pretty cool? Well, Misato and I wrote a list of names that we assumed he would have taken, which narrowed down the list of Taros to a very small amount. From there, we simply called them and asked if there was a Pansuto there,"  
"And? Did he respond under the name Pansuto?" Ranma asked.  
Misato chuckled weakly and said, "Yeah, when we called this Ryu person, and asked if his real name was that, he went ballistic so I assume that he's the one. Even though he never said he was that Pansuto person you were looking for, but judging by the way he answered by `I'll kill you!', I assume he's sensitive toward hearing that name and it's him,"  
"All right! We've finally found him!" Ranma said, "Great job!"  
Misato and Nene blushed a bit. "T-thank you," they both said.  
Ranma turned toward Nerb and Saffron, "You two up to a little flying trip to Hokkaido? Or would you like to stay here?"  
"Who is this Taro person?" Herb asked. "I guess I'll come along. We are way ahead of schedul anyway and wil be done in no time,"  
"Taro's pretty a cool person," Ranma smiled, "Just don't make fun of his name and you'll be find. You do not wanna get him angry. His cursed form is quite a powerhouse. He basically a flying minotaur that is stronger than Ryoga and Lime put together, and as fast as me and Mint put together,"  
Saffron smirked, "He sounds like a worthy opponent. Perhaps we can fight, right, Herb?" Herb and Saffron had pretty much become somewhat friends. During that little training session they had a few weeks back, the both of them unable to best each other, they realized their skill was virtually equal and thus, respected each other as a person and an opponent. Even as the weeks passed and they constantly sparred against each other, no one got the upper hand. The one thing that did change was Ranma. Although Ranma usually lost miserably during each training session, Herb and Saffron found him getting better and better with each passing day. The one thing they could not understand was how much Ranma was holding back during those sessions.  
Herb smiled, "Yes, I enjoy our training sessions in the morning. Adding one more person to our session should make it more interesting,"  
"Jeez, that's all you men every think about," Linna said wryly, "Fighting, fighting, and more fighting. Like you have something to prove"  
Herb and Saffron said nothing. They both learned the hard way to never anger the females of the house. Herb had accidentally walked in on Akane while she was in the shower. He learned the hard way that even with his absolute control over ki, it could still not protect him from an Akane determined to slap him for his perverted ways. Saffron had accidentally done that also, accidentally walking in on Kiema when she was on her way out the bathtub. Even though it had been dark and Keima couldn't see too well, thinking Saffron had been Ranma, a soap bar had struck him right between the eyes. Considering she couldn't see to well, how she had managed to have an aim so precise was beyond Saffron's understanding.  
Lime and Mint had suffered a woman's wrath also. Lime been wandering around in the dark, on his way to the bathroom when he felt something very soft. Turning on the lights, he realized he had accidentally grabbed a shocked Asuka's breast. Even though it had been two weeks ago, his cheeks still hurt from that incident. The same thing had happened to Mint except it had happened with Akane instead of Asuka. That had happened three weeks ago, and his cheek still hurt.  
The men that lived in his house had learned to keep their mouths shut and to never anger a woman. Well, most of the men that is. Ranma never seemed to learn.  
"What do ya mean all we think about is fightin'?" Ranma responed, "What about you women?"  
"What about us?" they females asked at once.  
"All you women talk about is which one of you will go out with me first when you all know I'm not interested in dating," Ranma replied, "I have a Nerv Headquarters to build y'know,"  
Herb and the others quickly turned their attention elsewhere. The tension was so tangible it could be cut with a knife. They didn't want to see what was going to happen. Whatever it was, it was going to be brutal.  
"Why you sexist, egotistical, arrogant, obnoxious pig!" all shouted at once.  
It was at this point, when he saw a mob of angry girls charging at him, that Ranma realized that he should have shut up.  
"Oh oh,"

Ranma was enjoying a nice soak in the bathtub at around two in the morning. His body had a bunch of bruised from when all those girls, except Rei, had beat him senseless. His body ached more than it hurt. It wasn't as if those girls were out for blood. They just wanted to teach him a lesson. Whether or not they succeeded was highly unlikely.  
Tomorrow, he and Herb and Saffron were going to fly north to Hokkaido to find Taro and ask for his help.  
His gaze out the window when Rei entered. She was naked. She looked up and saw Ranma.  
"Hey, Rei," Ranma said softly. He didn't really care anymore. Rei seemed to have a less sense of modesty than him so why should he be bothered by it.  
"May I join you?" she asked politely.  
Shrugging his shoulders, Ranma said, "Go ahead, there's enough room in this bathub for a dozen people,"  
Rei slipped into the bathtub. "Are you bothered by my being naked?"  
"Nope," he replied. He leaned back against the wall side of the bathtub and looked out the window again, like he had been before, "Should I?"  
"Shinji seems to be, but not you. Why not?" she asked softly, curious.  
Ranma turned toward Rei, "I dunno. We're basically born naked. Basically, being naked is being in our birthday suits,"  
Rei was silent.  
"Something botherin' ya?" Ranma asked, noticing this odd look to her.  
"Um, I was never born," she said.  
"I know, you were created," he said, "That's the same thing,"  
"Do you think so?"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah. Heck, what about me? I was created also."  
"You were born from an EVA," she said.  
"Yep," he said, "Even though I'm an Angel, and a clone, I prefer to think of myself as human,"  
Rei smiled softly, "Perhaps I should think that way also,"  
"Yep," he replied, "You should,"  
Ranma was walking down the hallway, a towel around his waist and another drying his hair when he bumped into Saffron.  
"Going for a little pit stop?" Ranma chuckled, "Don't bother because Rei's using the bathroom right now,"  
Saffron was silent. After a moment he said, "About Rei,"  
"Oh?"  
"I noticed she acts differently from others," Saffron commented. Ranma said, "Well, how would you act if you knew that you were a clone, could be replaced, was only created to further the human evolution process, have died only to be resurrected...and can't have children,"  
Saffron said "That is very tragic,"  
"What, does she give ya to creeps or something?" Ranma asked, curious.  
"In a ways, yes," Saffron said, "It seems like nothing bothers her. I find it very unsettling. A girl her age should not act like the way she does. Regardless, considering what she's been through, she must have a very strong will,"  
Ranma was silent for a long moment, thinking to himself. After a while, he smirked, "What's this? Is Saffy-chan developin' some kinda conscience?"  
Saffron sneered, "People change over the years. And don't call me Saffy-chan or I'll rip out your tongue,"  
"Just joking," Ranma said, "You should go walking around like there's a stick up your ass and all,"  
"Do you want to die, Ranma?" Saffron asked, teeth baring.  
Rei emerged from the bathroom. She was in a bathrobe as she rounded the corner and saw Ranma and Saffron. She looked up at them for several short moments, her emotions showing nothing. Saffron was unable to keep eye contact, turning his gaze away at the last minute. When Rei looked at Ranma, he simply grinned.  
Rei then looked straight ahead and walked past the two of them and headed up the stairs.  
When she was gone, Saffron turned toward Ranma, holding a hand over his chest, "My heart is beating rapidly,"  
Ranma chuckled, "What, does she scare you?"  
Saffron said nothing for a moment before he nodded, "It's like she has no emotions,"  
"No," Ranma said, waving a finger, "That ain't true. She does have emotions. She's just not good as expressing it,"  
"Do she ever laugh?"  
Ranma nodded, "Not much though,"  
"Have you ever made her laugh?" Saffron asked, curious.  
"Um, yeah, but it also nearly killed me because every single girl in the bathhouse tried to kill me,"  
"Do you like her?" Saffron asked, "Do you have any feelings for her?"  
"Yes, I like her. I like her a lot," Ranma replied without even thinking. "She deserves more to life than what she had been handed,"  
"You have changed Ranma,"  
"Yes, for the better," he grinned, "I've also grown more handsome,"  
"Your arrogance annoys me,"  
Ranma and Saffron and Herb hovered high over MegaTokyo, the clouds below them.  
"Hey, this is gettin' boring," Ranma said, "Let's do something different,"  
"You're the one that suggested this game," Herb said. He smirked, "Or is perhaps you're getting sick and tired of getting eliminated by either one of us every minute or so after we get started,"  
Ranma's brows creased as he said, "Hey, at least I'm lasting that long. Projectiles are both you and Saffron`s field of expertise. Why don't the both of ya spar against me where I'm most efficient?"  
Herb smiled, "Don't be so cocky, Ranma. Just because I'm good at manipulating my ki doesn't mean I have neglected other aspects of my training,"  
"I'm every bit as efficitent in hand to hand combat as I am using my projectils," Saffron said confidently.  
Ranma smirked, "My my, aren't we cocky?"  
Herb laughed, "That's kind of funny coming from someone like you. You are more arrogant than the two of us put together,"  
Ranma said nothing. He cleared his throat and said, "All right, so you guys up to sparring in hand to hand combat then?"  
"All right," Saffron and Herb said.  
"Let's spar in the slums so we don't accidentally send one another through a building," Ranma suggested, "And we'll also have Lime and Mint join in. Since they can't fly and take part in our mid air combat, I'm pretty sure they would like to spar the traditional way, through fists,"  
Together, the three of them hovered down to the ground. They landed in Ranma's backyard where they saw Mint and Lime busying sparring against one another. Ranma smirked as he noticed that they seemed about even in terms of fighting skill and were far superior of fighters than what he remembered.  
"Hey, we're going to the slums for some close combat sparring," Ranma said, "Ya wanna come?"  
They both stopped what they were doing and nodded, "Of course,"  
Together, all five of them made their way to the slums, Ranma carrying Mint, the smaller of the two, while Herb used his ki to allow a panicky Lime fly close by to him. When they all landed, Mint and Lime started kissing the ground. It seems the way Ranma and Herb fly seriously freaked them out.  
Ranma said with a smile, "All right, let's fight,"  
Herb and Saffron got into their battle stance. Lime and Mint soon followed.  
"What are the teams? Who fights who?" Lime asked.  
"It's every man for themselves," Ranma smirked, "Let's consider this a game. The last man standing wins,"  
"All right," they all said.  
Ranma smirked. With almost blinding speed, he charged toward the nearest person and slammed an open palm into Saffron's chest, sending him flying bodily through the air, sliding to a halt several yards away.  
He chuckled as he ran toward the next closest opponent which was Lime. Lime lifted his hands up to counterattack but Ranma was so quick that he managed to grab the tiger striped man's arms down and plant and open palm right into his chest, sending him flying bodily through the air, slamming into Mint, the both of them sliding to a halt a dozen or so yards away. Ranma smiled, knowing that there was on person left. He turned toward Herb just in time to see a massive ki-blast rocketing up to him and erupting against his chest, engulfed him in a massive explosion.  
"Looks like I win," Herb smiled, and arm held forward, a smile on his lips. When the dust from the explosion subsided, there remained a massive crater, Ranma standing in the middle of it. Ranma shot a ki-blast wizzed by Herb's head.  
"You used a ki-blast! That doesn't count!" Ranma shouted.  
"Oops, I forgot,"  
Ranma and Herb and Saffron hovered over a dojo. It basically looked like a house that was out in the middle of nowhere, a pathway leading to the dojo. The hose was surrounded by a dense thicket of trees, inaccessible except by a lone path that lead up the side of the mountain and to that house where it had been erected. It was now dark, Ranma and the other two have flown all night to reach Hokkaido. "This is Taro's place?" Herb asked.  
Ranma pulled out the piece of paper and looked at it and said, "Yep, this is it. This hasta be it. It's the only house around here," "Let's go then," Saffron said, diving down toward the dojo, landing skillfully by the front entrance. It was most likely someone was in the dojo because the lights were on while there were no lights on in the house. Ranma and Herb shrugged their shoulders and followed after Saffron. Saffron gritted his teeth as he forced himself to simply knock on the door instead of just breaking it down and entering or doing as he pleased. Ranma said that they could sure use Taro's help and that it wouldn't be prudent to get on Taro's bad side.  
The door opened to reveal had shirtless man. "What do you want?" the man sneered at Saffron. He didn't even notice the two people behind him. When he did, and his gaze fell on a familiar face, he said, "Ranma!"  
Ranma smirked and said in a sarcastic voice. "Hello...Ryu,"  
Taro cocked his arm back and sent it right into Ranma's face, sending Ranma flying through the air, slamming into a tree. The force of the impact caused the top portion of the tree to fall forward, broken at Ranma's point of impact, falling right down toward Taro's dojo.  
Without even batting an eye, Taro brought and hand up and caught the tree, casually throwing it off to the side. Saffron and Herb looked at Taro, unimpressed. Taro ignored them and walked toward Ranma as he slowly got to his feet, "That's what you get for not convincing Happousei to change my name!" he sneered.  
"So it's true, you are Pansuto!" Herb said. He thought he could have gotten the wrong person. But then again, it would have been hard explaining why the man had struck Ranma otherwise.  
Taro turned toward Herb and sneered, "Who the hell are you?" He took a menacing toward him, his teeth showing. "Do you want to die?"  
"I am Herb of the Musk Dynasty," Herb said, not backing away. He could destory the man before him in mere seconds. The strange thing though was this man did cause a small shiver of nervousness traveling up Herb's back.  
"And I am Saffron of Mount Pheonix," Saffron said proudly.  
"Was I talking to you, asshole?" Taro snapped at Saffron.  
Ranma chuckled, "Taro, I suggest you not mess with Herb and Saffron. The two of them will seriously mess you up," He brushed the broken tree bark from his clothes and walked up to Taro. That seemed to surprise Taro for a moment because he didn't expect Ranma to brush off such a devestating blow with ease. Saffron and Herb was a bit impressed also because they realized Ranma was a lot tougher than they had thought.  
Taro eyed Herb critically before doing the same with Saffron, "Both of you look like a bunch of pussies,"  
"What?" Saffron and Herb said.  
"You're just a mere mortal! Do you want to die?" Saffron sneered, beginning to burn with rage.  
"I betcha I can rip those wing off your back and shove `em so far up your asshole that the feathers will tickle your throat," Taro sneered at Saffron.  
Ranma started laughing, "Ha ha, that's funny. That's a good one," Herb smirked, "Is it true your name is Pansuto?" He was just dying to teach this man a lesson. Taro emanated no aura of power that Herb could felt and Herb would be able to destroy him with a simple flick of the wrist. He wondered what was so special about this man that Ranma would bother asking him for help.  
Saffron smirked, "Oh yeah, it's Pansuto, right?  
Herb and Saffron's smirk were wiped off their faces when Taro reached a hand out, one toward Saffron and one toward Herb, and grabbed the both of them by the temples, lifting them up off the ground and began to squeeze, causing Herb and Saffron to actually wince as bolt of pain shot through their heads. "Well, it looks like you two want to die!" Taro sneered.  
Ranma walked up behind Taro and used the most effective move ever devised, a move he never wanted to use but simply had to because of the situation he and Herb and Saffron were in. He reached around Taro and grabbed his private area and squeezed.  
Taro froze.  
"Let go of 'em if ya know what's good for you," Ranma smirked, "Or you will be sing sapprano for ever and ever,"  
"If you squeeze, I'll physically rip your dick off and shove it up your ass so you'll know exactly what it feels like to fuck yourself," Taro sneered, still holding Saffron and Herb in the air.  
Ranma squeezed a bit, "Ya wanna test me? To see if I'll actually go through with it?"  
Taro was silent.  
All of a sudden, it started raining.  
Ranma's eyes widened. His voice heart jumped up to his throat as he muttered, "Oh oh,"  
"Let go of me!" Ranma shouted, using his free leg and kicking at the monster's forearm. Taro was hovering in the air, a hand gripped tightly on one of Ranma's legs, swinging him around like a bat at Saffron and Herb as the two of them hovered in the air also and shot ki-blast and fireballs at the monster. "Quite shooting at him! Can't ya idiots see he's using me as a human shield!" Ranma shouted to Herb and Saffron as yet another ki-blast, followed by a fireball, erupted against him. Herb and Saffron didn't seem to listen as they continued to let loose ki-blast and fireball after one another, Ranma forced to absorb every single projectile fully as Taro swung him around and around, acting like he was trying to bat the prjectiles back at his two opponents.  
"Taro, listen to me!" Ranma shouted out, "We came here to ask for your help! Ouch! That hurts! Herb, Saffron, no projectiles!"  
Ranma started laughing as the six or seventh round of projectiles, nearing insanity due to the pain.  
"Aw fuck it! It can't hurt anymore than what Saffron and Herb are throwing at me!" Ranma said as he curled himself forward and shot a ki-  
blast right into Taro's face, a massive explosion engulfing him and the monster.  
The monster sneered at Ranma when the smoke from the blast subsided. It was totally unscathed by the blast, even after having been within such lose proximity.  
Ranma said, "Now that I've got your goddamn attention. There's something I hafta tell you!"

Ranma and the others were in Taro's house, gathered around a roaring fireplace, trying to dry themselves of their wet clothes. Taro was in his human form now. Ranma had explaiend everything, about the Angels, about his quest to prepare for the inevitable, and the outcome if they should fail. He had even answered other questions Taro was curious about, like where those wings on his back had come from.  
"Like I've explained to Herb and Saffron and now you, I'm a clone," Ranma said, serious, "The real me died not too long ago saving someone. On another world, I was born from a EVA, which was a cration that mankind had made in order to battle the Angels. I came outta that EVA while their world was being tested. That's why I know so much about this, because I've already been through it,"  
"It's all a test," Herb added.  
"Yes, that's basically it," Ranma said, "We are going to be tested by God to see if we are fit to go on living," "Why on Earth would we be tested anyway?" Taro asked. "Have we done anything wrong?"  
"No, it's not us," Ranma said, "It's humanity. The whole human race is gonna be tested. That's why we're here, because we hafta repel these Angels that are expected to attack within a few weeks from now. We are the only things standing between the Angels and total gobal destruction,"  
Taro was silent.  
"Well, will you help us?" Ranma asked.  
Taro smirked, "Well, if saving the world means I have to team up and work along side even the likes of you, Ranma, then I guess I have no choice,"  
"So you'll help?"  
"Yes,"  
"Good. We'll leave from my place tomorrow morning,"

Ranma and the others arrived back at the house sometime nearing nightime. Everyone came out of the house to greet them and say hello to the newcomer. Taro was introduced to the people he didn't know, Asuka, Rei, Shinji, Kiema, Mint, and Lime.  
"I'll introduce you to the rest of the gang tomorrow," Ranma said, yawning. He turned toward Kiema, Mint, and Lime, "So how goes the constuction? I know it's pretty hard just for the two of you to work, what with Kiema there nagging at ya," He smirked at Kiema while Saffron scowled at him.  
"It's going along fine," Lime said, smiling, flexing his muscles, "My brute strength comes in handy at times like these," Mint managed to add, "And my speed came in handy when that building nearly collapsed on Lime not too long ago. If it weren't for me getting you outta that building, you'd've been buried alive,"  
Lime shrugged his shoulders and said, "Hey, it wasn't my fault that the building was going to collapse. None of the others collapsed,"  
Ranma chuckled a bit, "Well, as long as you're all right. Anyway, any word on where Ryoga is?"  
Everyone shook their head while Akane said, "I don't even think he's even on thise world. I mean, why else would he had taken the nanban mirror with him,"  
"That's true," he commented, "Well, I guess all we could do is wait. How goes the MAGI? Do ya have any idea when it will be finished? I remember Ritsuko mentioning that there must've been some kinda faulty sector or something that kept her from progressin' any farther,"  
Asuka said confidently, "It should be finished in no time. And I managed to have found out what was wrong with it and fixed it,"  
Ranma smiled, "That's good, lil miss princess. Ya want me to give you a cookie?"  
Shinji burst out laughing. Asuka glared at Ranma, "You're such an asshole, Ranma!"  
"I'm just joking, Asuka," Ranma chuckled. "That's good to hear. Perhaps you might be better off helping Ritsuko and the others on creating MAGI instead of finding a way to evactuate the city. And speaking of which, have any of you come up with a good idea?"  
Shinji nodded and said in a triumphant voice, "Yeah, I came up with an idea what might actually work,"  
"You stumbled upon that by accident," Asuka muttered, "Someone as stupid as you would never think of something like that on purpose, right Ranma?"  
Ranma looked at Asuka, "Why the hell are ya askin' me? I didn't even hear the plan out," When Asuka glared at him, Ranma turned toward Shinji and asked, "So, what was the plan?"  
"When in school today, I was dozing off in class and dropped one of my book," Shinji said, "And the book fell to the ground and was open to the Second Kanto Earthquake. I figured we could create and earthquake similar to that one that would cause everyone to get panicky and leave the city,"  
"A-an e-earthquake?" Ranma said, "Um, exactly how do we go about creating an earthquake?"  
Shinji said, "Well, that's the hard part,"  
Ranma chuckled, "Well, in order to do so, we need like ten Ryoga's around picking up a huge chunk of MegaTokyo and shaking it. Try again. There's gotta be an easier way,"  
"I told you it was a stupid idea, Shinji," Asuka said wryly.  
"Hey, I don't see you comin' up with any idea, lil miss princess," Shinji spat, brows creasing. "At least I came up with one over the three plus weeks we've been trying to come up with something,"  
Asuka glared at Shinji while he did the same back, not backing down.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said, "Hey, how about you do this? Steal a blimp. Fill that whole thing up with some kinda non-poisonous gas, set it flying over the city, and pretend you're some kinda madmad that would let loose this poisonous gas if no one exacuated the city. That way, the blimp can't be shot down, and if it were, since it's full of non-poisonous gas, no one will get hurt,"  
Akane, Shinji, Rei, and Asuka stared at Ranma. It was the most plausible plan to date. The plan was actually brilliant.  
"I guess it wouldn't work, huh?" Ranma said, scratching the back of his head. "Oh well, it was only a suggestion. It just popped into my head. Nevermind I said that,"

"Five against one? That's no problem," Taro smirked. It was now morning and everyone was at the slums. Taro was going to take part in the morning training session Ranma, Herb, Saffron, Mint, and Lime took part in. For the fun of it, Ranma had suggested that all five of them try and knock out Taro while he was in his cursed form. "What's the catch?" Taro asked.  
"We hafta use our barehands," Ranma, hovering in the air, said, "And you have to fight with no intent to kill. We are here to better ourselves through training, not try and kill ourselves,"  
"I'm not going to guarantee anything." Taro said, with a shrug of his shoulders, "Herb and Saffron are a buncha pussies, and would probably end up getting killed by one of my simple punches,"  
A massive aura formed around Saffron and Herb as they exploded with rage. "What did you say?"  
Taro poured the bottle of water that he had with him over his head, changing him into his cursed form, a massive monster that stood at least twenty feet tall and looked like a minotaur with wings and a pair of octapus tentacles jutting out from his back.  
"Y-y-you want us to fight that?" Mint stuttered.  
Ranma smirked, "Yep," He then flipped Taro the middle finger, something he enjoyed doing as a form of taunting, "C'mon, Pansuto-chan, let's see how good you are,"  
Ranma smirk was wiped off his face when the giant monster rocketed toward him faster than the speed of sound and grabbed him by the face, and then fell staright down toward the ground, slamming Ranma into the ground with such force that a large crater was formed.  
The monster started laughing as it stood up, looking down at the battered form that was Ranma's body.  
Two massive explosions erupted against Taro's back, propelling the monster forward, stumbling for balance, crashing headfirst into an abandonned building, causing it to collapse down on him.  
Ranma hopped to his feet and looked up at the two hovering figures and shouted, "Herb, Saffron, no projectiles! This is only a hand to hand combat training session!"  
He turned around to face a fuming Taro, the monster's eyes glowing red with pure rage. Ranma took a nervous step back, "Um, er, okay, forget what I said, use projectiles! MoukoTakabisha!" he shouted, letting a massive ki-blast shoot from his open palm and at Taro's massive form. Herb and Saffron smirked at each other as the let loose a volley of projectiles toward Taro. Mint and Lime just stared, jaws wide open at the mass destruction that was occuring. It looked like mini nukes were going off just a dozen or so yards in front of them.  
After a few seconds of an intensely concentrated volley of ki-blast and fireballs, a massive black blur rocket forward from the dust the blasts had generated, charging right at Ranma. Ranma shot a ki-blast right into Taro's chest just as Taro grabbed Ranma by one of his legs and picked him up, swinging him around like a bat.  
Herb and Saffron, seeing Taro was very much in fighting condition, let loose another barrage of projectiles in Taro's general direction.  
All that could be heard from the explosions was Ranma shouting out.  
"Ouch! Ow! No projectiles! I take it all back! No projectiles! That hurts!"

Ranma glared at Sarron and Herb, "You threw those on purpose. You definitely heard what I said, but ya kept on throwing `em anyway," Ranma and Herb and Saffron were on their way back toward the slums after dropping of some steel beams, Saffron offering to carry steel beams for a change instead of destroying the buildings. They had just walked past Taro, who was in cursed form, and had been carrying half an entire building. The had to get more steel beams because Ranma had forgot to add the bathroom in with the blueprints. After they get enough, they would go about building the rest of Nerv Headquarters.  
Herb chuckled, "Sorry, Ranma, we couldn't really hear you because all we could hear were our projectiles being batted away,"  
"Yeah, with me being used as the bat!" Ranma snapped. Saffron and Herb burst out laughing.

It was now nighttime.  
Everyone was gathered around Ranma's house in the backyard. Sylia and the others hadn't had the chance to meet Taro until tonight. Everyone that hadn't meet Taro yet was introduced to him tonight and vice verse. He was introduced as Ryu Taro. All the girsl remembered how Taro was sensitive about his name so they decided not to test the waters and see just how sensitive he was. Once again, Misato had a good laugh realizing that Taro knew Ranma because they tried to kill each other. Aside from this almost tangile tension that had settled between Ranma, Taro, Saffron, and Herb, everyting was going along fine. "So how's everything going?" Ranma asked Ritsuko.  
"Perfectly," Ritsuko said happily, "Because of those notes you brought back with you, we'll have the MAGI finished in no time,"  
"Where are you buildin' the thing anyway?" he asked, curious. "I haven't even seen it yet. It must be pretty big,"  
Ritsuko said, "We're building it at our place. And it isn't that big. It's about the size of a football, at least the heart of the computer is. Everything else could be store bought so we don't have to worry about it. I've heard about the plan you came up with to evacuate the city,"  
"What plan?" he asked dumbly.  
"You know, the plan were we fill a blimp with non-poisonous gas?" she said, "Well, Nene is currently working on the evacuation instead of on the MAGI. It doesn't really matter though. Since I have all those notes, I could pretty much finish the whole thing on my own, even though it'll take a bit longer,"  
"What is Nene doing then?" he asked. He motioned for Nene to come over to him. "Nene, Ritsuko said you're working on the evacuation plan with the others. How is it going? Exactly what are you guys doing?"  
Nene smiled, "It's going fine. We have easy access to a blimp, and can make it untraceable back to us if it were to ever get shot down. Priss and Linna are currently going around in the blackmarket looking for some kind of gas that would be considered an irritant yet non-poisonous,"  
"Like what?"  
"Like mace in gaseous form," Nene answered, "We plan on doing this three times. The first time around, the Japanese government will think its a bluff and will have it shot down. The second time around, we will release it. And the third time will be the charm. Everyone will have evacuated the city because they don't want to go through another day of feeling like hell,"  
"Do you think everyone will evacuate?"  
Nene shook her head, "No. There's always people who will not evacuate, like a real snot nosed reporter, or the curious teenagers, or the stubborn man that refuses to leave his home of fifty years. We can't really do anything about that. If they die, it would be considered along the lines of a casualty of war,"  
Ranma sighed, "But that's not good enough. I don't want anyone dying,"  
"Well, what can we do?" Nene said with a shrug of her shoulders, "There's always going to be contingencies?"  
"Hey, any way you can create some kinda scouting boomer? Perhaps that way, when the city's evactuate, we could send a small army of boomers through the city to locate people that have stayed behind. When we find them, we could simply pick them up and drop them off somewhere,"  
Nene said, "Perhaps, lettme ask Lisa," She called over to Lisa. When Lisa came over, she asked, "Lisa, considering the technology we have today, is there any way to create boomers?"  
"Yes, but it's illegal," she said matter-of-factly.  
Ranma laughed, "So what? We're gonna steal a blimp and threaten the whole city. I'm pretty sure that's even more illegal. Anway, what kinda boomers can you make?"  
"What kind do you need?" she asked with a smirk that seemed to bring a smile to Ranma's face.  
"Anyway you can build as many scouting type boomers as possible?" he asked, "We need `em to comb the city in case anybody stays behind after its been evactuated. I want no one dying. I've seen enough people dying on that other world to last me a lifetime,"  
Lisa nodded and smiled, "I can make enough boomers to replace MegaTokyo's population in the given time,"  
Ranma smiled, "Cool. And after that, we could use them as cannon fodder for the Angels, like the ADPolice were for the boomers,"  
"Hey!" Nene said.  
Ranma chuckled, "Just kidding. Anyway, I'm just curious, but, how? How can you make so many boomers? Heck, what the hell do ya use to make `em?"  
Lisa smiled, "Hey, all you need is a microchip, which I can make, some wires, which we can buy at a hardwardstore, and lots of metal, which we have plenty of at the slums, and a blowtorch,"  
"Hey, with building boomers, we can call in Mackie," Nene said with grin, "I haven't seen him in a while, not since he moved to the states to start his own business. It would be nice to see how he's doing nowadays,"  
"Nah, leave him alone," Ranma said, "He's got a business to run,"  
"I guess you're right," Nene said, a bit sad.

"We're finally finished!" Ranma said happily.  
He and the others were gathered in front of the newly created NeoNerv Headquarters. Ranma had suggested calling it Ranma Headquarters but everyone laughed at him but he persisted saying he was the one that drew up the design but everyone still laughed at him so he let it go. "I can't believe we're finished," Misato said, looking up at the pyramid like NeoNerv. "Not just yet," Ritsuko said, "We still have to bring the MAGI from our apartment to here and to carry out the evacuation plan. We can have the MAGI put in by tomorrow,"  
"Yes, all we hafta do is carry out," Priss said, "But everything's ready. We have enough gas for three blimps and the three stolen blimps stashed away in a safe place. All we have to do is inflate them with the gas and go about our way,"  
"Speaking of the blimps, exactly how did you manage to get them?" Kiema asked. She was every bit as curious as the other females in the group. All they could remember were the males showing up at the house, grinning like they shaved a cat for their very first time, and said they managed to get the blimps. They said nothing else about how they got it. All the males, except Shinji, and Nene knew of how they got the blimps.  
"It's easy," Herb said, "We simply found a warehouse where four were being created. We basically waited for it to three of them to be created before we stole them,"  
"Nene was the one in charge of flying the blimp all the way to the slums," Ranma continued on, "While all of use stayed behind, Herb and Saffron following closely behind the blimp in case the blimp in case anyone tried to shoot it down. Anyway, me and Mint stayed behind and took over the control toward where no one could detect nor determine where the blimp was headed. When Nene dropped the blimp off in the slums, Taro and Lime would deflate it and drag the blimp to a massive hole the my seppukku blast had created over a decade ago. From there, they waited for the other two,"  
"After Nene, I guess the best word would be parked the blimp," Herb said, "And Taro and Lime went about doing their task of deflating it, I would bring Nene back to the warehouse she would steal another one. Saffron would escort us, so she nothing would happen incase trouble arised. We did this until we got all three blimps,"  
"And you buried it?" Sylia asked, shocked. She remembered seeing a satellite image of that huge crater Ranma had caused over a decade ago, and filling it up would take quite a bit of effort, even if it had three blimps in it.  
"Yep," Mint said, "It only took us a day to bury it,"  
"A-a day? To bury all that? The goddamn crater's about a mile wide!" Priss said, shocked, "How the hell could you have done it in a day?"  
Everyone looked at each other. Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess we work well together,"  
"I'm getting a headache," the girls seemed to say.  
The guys laughed.  
"If Ryoga were here," Ranma chuckled, "He probably would have used his BakusaiTenketsu and burrow a hole all the way from the slums to GeoFront. Yes, a hole big enough to fit a hole blimp through it. I'm sure of it cause I saw him blow up a mountain,"  
"I'm getting headache again," the girls said again.  
The guys laughed again.  
"I can't believe you people managed to finish building a whole base in under two months," Lisa commented, looking up a NeoNerv Headquarters, "Whatever you guys did in creating this, you did a wonderful job. I wonder how Madigan and Carper would react when they see this. It's too bad they can't be here,"  
"Hey, they have to take care of Jun. Besides, they're going to be evacuating the city along with everyone else because they have a child to worry about," Ranma smiled, "Well, now that we are finished building, we can now dedicate our time to building cannon fodder...I mean boomers," He grinned as everyone smiled in his direction.  
"Man, everything's going smoothly," Ritsuko said with a smile, "The MAGI's finished and just about to be installed. NeoNerv Neadquarters is finished. When have enough firepower than Units zero, one, and two put together. We have the three blimps and the gas. All we need are the scouting boomers and we're ready to execute the evacuation of this city,"  
Everyone seemed to nod.  
Leave it to Ranma to ruin everything.  
"Even though everything's going fine, imagine how much trouble we would be in right now if an Angel attacked?"

"This calls for a celebration," Ranma said, smiling. "As of right now, NeoNerv Headquarters is officially finished," He and everyone were in front of NeoNerv. Today, MAGI had been installed into the headquarters and wa running perfectly. Eventhough Ritsuko had been forced to improvise on several aspect, the MAGI of this world was every bit as effcient as the MAGI her mother had created. It was basically three virtually living supercomputers working together as one, and it even had three personalities. She called the three sperate computers Past, Present, Future. It held the personalities of Ritsuko as a woman, scientist, and mother respectively. Ranma had made fun of her about that once, acting all suprised that Ritsuko was a woman.  
"Officially? This isn't some kind of public announcement. No one knows about it but us," Ritsuko said, smirking a bit.  
"Y'know what I mean," Ranma grinned, "Anyway, this calls for a celebration. It's still early in the day, not even noontime. We should have some fun to signify the completion of our prepartations."  
"Like what kind of celebration?" Misato asked. She could think of ways to have fun. Of course it would requre her and Ranma and a pair of handcuffs. The same thing seemed to pass Linna's mind.  
"We goto the beach," he said. He smiled at Kiema, "If you remember, Kiema, about two months ago, I asked you if you've ever been to the beach before,"  
"To which I never have," Keima answered for him, curious.  
He smiled warmly, "Well, today's the perfect day to go. And like I said before, you'll love it,"

"Go buy your own swimsuits," Ranma muttered toward Herb, Mint, Lime, and Kiema. They had heard Ranma had helped Asuka and Shinji and Rei buy swimsuits the other time so figured he wouldn't mind this time.  
"We don't know what to look for," Herb said, "I have never been to the beach before and have never worn a swimsuit before,"  
Ranma chuckled, "You're a emperor and you've never been to the beach, now that is was I call a `poor rich people'. All right, I guess I take you all shopping. But keep in mind that I'm only doing this because I have nothing better to do. You're all grown ups and should be able to do it all on your own,"  
Together, Ranma and the others headed for town.  
They arrived in town, sweaty from to blazing heat. They entered a clothing store that sold bathing suits. Upon entering Ranma walked up to the counter where he indulged in some conversation with a young girl. "They're idiots," he commented, "All of `em have never been to the beach before,"  
The girl narrowed her eyes, "Does that make me an idiot? I've never been to the beach before. I always goto the pool,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "All right, they're idiots because they're around eighty years old and they've never been to the beach before,"  
"My grandfather's never been to the beach because he had a war injury that would always act up when around water," she replied icily.  
Ranma turned toward the girl, "I should shut up, shouldn't I?"  
The girl nodded.  
Ranma did as he was told.  
"How does this look?" Lime asked, showing Ranma a tiger striped pair of briefs.  
"That's underwear," Ranma said.  
"Oh," Lime said before turning back toward the rack again.  
"How's this?" Mint asked, pulling out a pair of orangish red swimming trunks. When Ranma said he didn't care, Mint walked up to the counter and placed it there.  
Herb said, "How do these look?"  
"Those are for girls," Ranma smirked, "I'm pretty sure the part meant to cover breast should have given it away,"  
Herb started at the top half of the one piece bathing suit for a minute before putting it back on the rack. He pulled out another one, "How about this?"  
"You're currently in the women's swimming suit section," Ranma said, "Anything you pull out are for women," Lime and Ranma chuckled a bit. Lime was secretly grateful that he picked up the right outfit on the first try.  
Mint walked up to the counter and placed his slection on it.  
Herb found a decent outfit and also did the same. All that was left was Kiema. She was looking through everything, totally undecided at what to get.  
"Man, what's with you women," Ranma muttered to Kiema.  
The girl behind the counter glared at Ranma.

"Can ya rub some suntan lotion on my back?" Ranma asked Sylia, turning around and exposing his wingless back for her. She was the one closest to him on that hot summer day. Once again, everyone, the new additions to the group included, were at the beach. Sylia blushed a bit and smiled, "Of course, Ranma," She rubbed the lotion on she remembered rubbing his back back then, the last time they were at the beach. She noticed that his skin had an almost golden tan to it from Ranma working shirtless those hot days, carrying steel beams back and forth between the slums and the entrance to GeoFront. The muscles of his back was definitely a lot tighter and more hard, like chiseled stone.  
"Hey, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves," Ranma commented, gesturing toward the group playing a game of beach volleyball. It was the males versus the females and the males were losing badly. Saffron and Herb were both taking it badly, not at all enjoying the fact that they were losing. "Hey, even Rei seems to be having fun. She's actually smiling and almost even laughing,"  
"They sure do," Sylia said. She was silent for a moment before she asked, "You do know she's fifteen, right?"  
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" he asked.  
"Do you like her?"  
"Of course," he replied without even needing to think. He wondered why on Earth Sylia would ask something like that in the first place. He considered himself Rei's guardian, and wasn't it considered natural that Ranma like her. Otherwise, why would he had taken her under his wing? Unless...  
"Hold up, you think I like her as in love her?" Ranma asked, "As in in love with her?"  
Sylia blushed a bit. Did she sound that blunt? Was it that obvious that she had been trying to find a way to know Ranma's feelings toward Rei? "Um, I'm sorry, I should have never had asked. It was none of my business," Ranma watched Rei for a moment, smiling inwardly to say, "Y'know what?I do love her,"  
"Y-you do?" she asked, shocked, "B-but s-she's only fifteen,"  
"No, not that way," Ranma said, "I love her as if she was my family,"  
"Like your family?" she asked.  
Ranma chuckled, "I'm probably not making sense. I see Rei as my family, like a sister I've never had and always wanna protect, and deep down inside, Unit-01 is like my mother,"  
"W-what are you talking about?" Sylia asked, shocked, "Unit-01's like your mother?"  
Ranma said, "Well, perhaps it means nothing, but when I went back to the other world to pick up Unit-01, and realized that I can't bring it back with me, I felt very very sad,"  
Sylia was silent.  
"And ya know what else is funny?" Ranma continued up, watch Rei, "It dawned on me that Rei was partially created from Lilith. And that the Evangelions are also created from Lilith also. Y'know what that means? We can actually create partial Evangelions because he had a living Lilith on this world. The only thing is is that I don't want Rei to have to go through that. She's been used so much in her life and I don't want her being used anymore. All I want is for her to enjoy life. Do you think something could be wrong with me? It's like I'm being selfish for my own needs and trying to protect Rei,"  
"You're not being selfish," Sylia said, "You're being paternal,"  
"Paternal? You think that could be it?"  
"I think you might be viewing Rei more like a daughter than a sister,"  
Ranma was silent.

"Rei, can I speak with you?"  
Rei looked up at Ranma and softly said, "Yes," She and Ranma were alone. Everyone had gone on ahead toward, having decided to visit the bathhouse after spending half the day at the beach. It was nearing evening.  
"What is it you wanted to speak to me about?" she asked.  
"Remember that night you walked in on me while I was in the bathtub?" he began.  
"Yes,"  
"Well, after our little talk, I bumped into Saffron," he said, "We talked for a short while...about you,"  
"Oh?" she said, blushing a bit. She didn't really know what to think. "Anyway, Saffron mentioned about you having a strong will," Ranma said, "And it got me thinking. You're like an Angel, just like I am. Since I have an AT field, that means you must have one also,"  
"I don't understand what you are saying," she replied.  
"I think that is what makes you so strong," Ranma said with a warm smile, "While I have some kinda physical AT field, you have a mental one. Perhaps that is why you are able to deal with so many situations without simply breaking down and crying, because you have a strong AT field,"  
Rei was silent.  
"Anyway, I just wanted to letcha know that it's perfectly all right to let that AT field down and simply cry. Afterall," He smiled, "I remembered seeing you laugh back there at the bathhouse over two months ago, you were actually having fun,"  
Rei was silent. All she could do was smile a bit.  
Through the spoken word, Ranma was slowly neutralizing Rei's impenetrable AT field that she had put up so long ago.  
Ranma placed a hand on Rei's shoulder, "C'mon, let's catch up with the others,"  
Herb climbed up the rock that was leaning against the wall that seperated from the female side from the male side of the bathhouse.  
"Y-you're going to p-peep on them again?" Shinji said, shocked, Herb smiled, "Yes," He wanted to see female breasts since he had this keen fascination with it.  
Shinji turned toward Ranma, "Ranma, didn't you mention to `em about what had happened to you when you tried it?"  
"Nope," Ranma grinned, "Let him learn the hard way. Considering the stunt I pulled the other day, they're all going to be expecting me to pop my head up at any moment. Herb's in for a rude awakening," He looked up at Herb and said, "Herb, you're so cool. I'd never be brave enough to peep on them,"  
"Or stupid," Shinji commented to himself, suppressing a chuckle.  
Herb looked at Ranma and grinned. He turned his attention away from Ranma and stood up when he reached the top of the rock, looking over the wall and into the female side, expecting to see breasts aplenty. He was shocked to see all the females of the group standing in the middle of the baths, clad in swimming suits, their arms crossed, buckets and soap in their hands.  
"Oh oh," Herb muttered.  
"Why didn't you tell me they were expecting someone to peep on them?" Herb muttered, looking up to keep his bloody nose from bleeding anymore. He was leaning against the rock he had climbed up. The entire upper portion of his body was covered with bruises the size of soap bars. Ranma and the other males were by his side, most of them snickering.  
"Hey," Ranma chuckled, "Consider that a form of payback for what you and Saffron did to me back there when Taro was swinging me around like I was a bat," He then tured toward Taro and Saffron, "And don't forget, sooner or later, you two are going to get it also,"  
"You won't fool me as easily as you did Herb," Saffron smirked.  
Ranma turned toward Herb, "Hey, Herb, did you get a good look at Kiema?" Since Saffron was behind Ranma, he didn't see Ranma wink at Herb. Herb smirked a bit, knowing exactly what Ranma was trying to come up with. What better way to humble Saffron than to have him fall for his own words.  
Herb said, "Yes, I got a good look at her. She's very beautiful,"  
"Y-y-you saw her naked?" Saffron stuttered, blushing a bit.  
Ranma turned toward Saffron and said, "Of course he did. This is a bathhouse. You can't go into the baths unless you're naked. Jeez, there's gotta be something wrong with you," He turned back around and proceeded to slowly climb up the rock, "I'm going to get myself a peek,"  
"Oh no you don't," Saffron said, reaching a hand out and grabbing Ranma's shoulder, halting him.  
Ranma smirked, "Are you jealous that I'm going to see your precious Kiema naked?"  
"I-I am not!" Saffron snapped, getting angry.  
"Fine, then you go peep on her," Ranma said. "Fine!" Saffron said. He climbed up the rock and stood up when he reached the top. Seconds later, he realized he had just been outwitted by Ranma, just as a barrage of bucket and soap hit into him, sending him falling back down, bouncing against the rock several times before landing in the hot water in a belly flop.  
Ranma burst out laughing, pointing at Saffron, "You're such an idiot. And here I thought you weren't going to be as fooled as easily,"  
Saffron resurfaced, glowing red, "Ranma!" Ranma held his hands up defensively. "Hey, hold up, Saffron," he pleaded, taking a step back, "Keep in mind what you and Herb did to me, continuing to throw ki-blasts and fireballs while Taro was swinging me around like a bat. This makes us even, n-ne?" He gave a weak laugh, sweating a bit.  
Saffron sneered. He took a deep breath, and said to himself, "All right. I'm above that. I've changed over the years," He looked at Ranma and said, "Fine, consider yourself even. But if you ever do something like that again, I'll kill you,"  
Ranma smiled weakly, "Agreed,"  
"Hmph," Taro smirked, "I can't believe both of you pussies fell for that trick. Well, Ranma, you're not going to fool me one bit. I learned the hard way not to peep on someone and I'll never do that again for the rest of my life,"  
Ranma smiled. "When I peeped on them," Ranma said, "I learned the hard way that there is no rock on their side so there is no way you can climb back up and hop over the wall and onto the men's side,"  
"So?" Taro replied.  
"And this is a bathhouse, meaning it has hot water, meaning there is no way you can change to you cursed form," Ranma continued, "That means once you're over there, there is no way you can fly outta there in you cursed form and back over to this side,"  
Ranma grinned, his teeth showing.  
Taro gulped. He didn't like the way Ranma was smiling.  
In one swift movement, Ranma picked Taro up and threw him over the wall.  
Moments later, sounds of Taro screaming for his life could be heard, drowned out by the women calling him a hentai and hitting him with various and probably very blunt objects. As he was getting the life beat out of him, Taro managed to say something.  
"I-I'll k-kill y-you, R-Ranma, i-if I s-survive this!"  
Ranma laughed.

"Well, we have one more week left before the Angels start attacking," Asuka said. She and mostly everyone else were in NeoNerv, gathered around a large office table. Over the weeks, everyone had contributed to actually funishing the headquarters. The place actually had a homey feel to it. It even had several beds in place anyone wanted to sleep there, not wanting to trek topside and to their respective home.  
Over the course of the three weeks since NeoNerv had been built, Ranma and the others had continued to train in the morning, while they spend the rest of their day gathering metal up from the slums and bringing them down to NeoNerv where Lisa was currently using to make a dozen or so scouting boomers. By then end of the second week, over fifty boomers had been built, all of them, although crudely made, was definitely functional which was what counted. The last week had been spent updating those fifty boomers, removing the glitches and bugs in the programming. By the final week, they were ready to be let loose in the city. Sure, they would never pass as a citizen since they basically looked like those blue C-55 combat boomers, but that didn't matter.  
"I guess now is the point of no return," Nene said. Ranma nodded, "It's time we start evacuating the city,"  
"Yes," Misato said. She spoke into her walkie-talkie, "Mint, Lime. Is the blimp ready?"  
Lime's voice filtered into the room through an external speaker, "Yes, they are. We have dug up one of them and is currently in the process of inflating them and filling them with that gas,"  
"Are you sure the gas isn't harmful?" Lisa asked, "I mean, we don't want people dying and all,"  
Priss and Linna nodded. "They're not harmful," Linna said, "They're more of an extreme irritant. Picture having a thousand misquito bites and mace in your eyes. That's what the gas will feel like. And don't worry, we have an antidote for those extreme cases,"  
"Good," Sylia said, "And after the gas is released, we'll make our demands and let them know we are serious about having the city evacuated,"  
Ranma looked at Nene, "Well, Nene, you ready to start a panic?"  
"As r-ready as I'll ever be," she said nervously.  
Misato handed Nene a communicator, "Here, take these. We can communicate with each other without risking someone listening on the frequency,"  
Ranma looked at Ritsuko and Lisa. Together, they could do almost anything. They had pretty much created the entire communication system throughout NeoNerv and all the necessary works needed to make the place fully operational, like the real Nerv Headquarters.  
Nene put the communicator on and said, "All right, let's go, Ranma,"  
Ranma nodded.  
Together, they both left NeoNerv and for the world above.

Ranma looked out window of the small control booth under the blimp. He looked down at the city below. Considering how low the blimp was located from the altitude it was expected to be, people were gathered around in the streets several hundred feet below.  
He and Nene were the only ones in there. Nene was piloting the blimp, she being the only capable of doing so. "We're in position," she said into the communicator. She was also wearing her hair high and tucked under a cap to conceal her identity. Ranma didn't care about his identity.  
"All right, we hafta do this right," she heard Misato, "We're watching you from down below. You have two choppers making an intercept course directly behind. ETA, two minutes,"  
"Ranma, two choppers on our six in two minutes," Nene said aloud. She then said, "All right, Misato, we'll take it from here,"  
"Good luck," Misato said.  
Nene's radio came to life, "Unidentified blimp, you are in restricted air space. Turn around now,"  
Ranma walked over to the radio and grinned, "You wanna do the honors or should I?"  
Nene smiled and picked up the receiver and said in a low voice that didn't sound like her own, "No, we won't!"  
"Then you will be shot down! I repeat, you will be shot down!"  
"I seriously suggest not because we are carrying a leathal gas," Nene said, "If you do not evacuate this city, we will release it,"  
There was radio silence.  
"Did the readio just break? Why ain't they replying?" Ranma asked, looking at the radio.  
"They received my threat and is relaying it to a section that deals with terrorism," she replied. When she saw Ranma grinning, she smiled and said, "Yes, we're bad guys. Yes, we're now considered terrorist. And yes, what we are doing considered one hundred percent terrorism."  
"Cool!" he smiled. He walked over to the back of window and looked out, "Hey, check it out. There are those two helicopters ya said," He waved at them, wondering if they could see him. "Yo, helicopter man! How many fingers am I holding up? Give up? One...and it's my middle finger!" He turned toward Nene, "This is fun,"  
Nene smirked slightly, "If you say so. Right now, I'm so nervous I feel like I'm going to have a heartattack,"  
The radio came back on, "Are you still there?"  
Ranma picked it up, smirking at Nene and said, "Yeah, I'm still here! I see two helicopters behind me! Tell them to get off my tail because it upsets my stomach! And if I have an upset stomach, I'm probably gonna pass gas if you know what I mean!"  
Nene burst out laughing. Ranma grinned, "Ya still feel nervous?"  
"H-how c-can I?" Nene said, laughing aloud, tears coming to her eyes, "I'm laughing too hard to be nervous! Ha ha! Ow, my sides are starting to hurt! Ha ha! Ow!"  
Ranma smirked as he looked back out the window and noticed the two helicopters were gone. He then picked the receiver up and said, "Hey, ya got rid of the chopters. That's a smart move if ya know what's good for you?"  
Ranma clicked on a button.  
"What are your demands?" could be heard emanating from a dozen megaphones attached outside the booth. The city below would be able to hear the man and Ranma's voice loud and clear.  
"Evacuate the city," Ranma said in a serious voice, "Have everyone leave and not come back for several weeks,"  
"W-what? What you are demanding is impossible to deliver!"  
"If you do not, then I will release the gas!" Ranma said, "I am dead serious!"  
Still holding the receiver, he walked over to the window and looked out and at the one of buildings. His eyes narrowed as he pointed to something and said, "Hey you, the ugly sniper over there! Yeah, you, the person that thinks I don't see you! The glass of this booth is bullet proof! If you shoot, I will release the gas! You will not kill me that easily, I'm a lot smarter than you think!"  
"Nene, what the hell is Ranma talking about?" she heard Misato's voice, "The glass isn't bulletproof!"  
"I know, but the snipers don't know that," Nene said, smiling. Ranma was a very very smart man. He was great at playing mind games.  
"Hey, look, sniper dude, I'm turning my back toward the glass," Ranma said, grinning, "I am allowing you a clear shot to blow my brains out! C'mon ya chicken! I dare you!" He turned back around and smirked, "I figured. You're a lot smarter than that asshole that's probably tellin' you to fire the goddamn shot through your communicator,"  
The sniper put his rifle down, sweating profusely, "H-how does he know?"  
"I don't know," Ranma said to Nene after she asked the same question, "I'm just making an assumption. Having been around as long as I've been, ya get used to how things work," He spoke into the receiver, "Hey, you, negotiator, you there?"  
"I'm here," came a nervous voice.  
"Also, don't bother trying to stall for time," he said, half chuckling, "I will release this gas. You can send in paratroopers to land on top of the blimp, but it doesn't matter because...I've placed mines on top of the blimp and once one is set of, the whole blimp will go, release the gas," He winked at Nene.  
"You will die in the explosions also," the man said.  
"So what?" Ranma smirked. "I don't care. I want to kill myself. And I plan on taking the entire city with me if I could. I want some company in the afterlife," He turned toward Nene, "What better way to spook `em than to make `em think I wanna die,"  
"Sir, please, if you will calm down," the man said.  
Ranma chuckled and said into the receiver, "I ain't calming down! I wanna go down in history as the man that killed the most people! But, because I'm a saint, I'm gonna give this city one hour to get as far away from here as possible!"  
"Considering what you're doing, you're not a saint," Nene said, smirking.  
Ranma nodded, "I know. But I betcha the people down there are in a shit fit because now they realize that I'm crazy and I can't tell the difference between right and wrong, a very volatile combination if I might add,"  
"There are two choppers way a head of you. In your current course, they will ambush you from your right," Nene heard Misato say, "They are hidding behind a building. They look intent to take you down with or without resistance!"  
"What are we going to do?" Nene said. "There are two choppers waiting to ambush us!"  
"You worry too much," Ranma chuckled. He reached a hand forward and pulled down on a lever. The blimp stopped its forward progress. "We'll simply stop. Problem solved,"  
"Genius," Nene commented. She couldn't believe how rational Ranma was in a situation like this. "I know," Ranma grinned.  
"You're also arrogant,"  
"I know that, too," he continued to grin, "Can I have the communicator please?"  
Nene took it off and handed it to Ranma. Ranma brough the mouthpiece to his mouth and said, "Hey, Misato, you there? Does this thing work? I can't hear you,"  
"You have to put it on," Nene said.  
"Oh," Ranma said. He smiled weakly and put the communicator on and said, "Misato, you there?"  
"Yeah,"  
"All right, you better get outta there, I'm gonna release the gas in about two minutes," he said.  
"All right, we'll all randevoux at GeoFront," she said, "Saffron and Herb are directly below you. They'll provide cover in case anyone open fire on you"  
"Good," Ranma smiled.  
"Good luck,"  
"Thanks," he said. He took the communicator off and turned toward Nene and said, "All right, you ready? We're going to release the gas in a very short while,"  
Nene reached under her seat and pulled out a small case. She opened it to reveal two gas masks. She handed one to Ranma, which he put on before she put on her own.  
"You ready?" he asked gently, his voice muffled by the gas mask he was wearing. Nene took a very deep breath and nodded, "As ready as I'll ever be,"  
Ranma pulled a large lever and a loud ringing could be heard and the booth became bathed in a red light. They both walked to the back portion of the booth were there was an emergency hatch. Nene held her arms around Ranma tightly as he kicked the door open, a gust of wind and gas entering the room. Right in front of them the could see the valve that was releasing the gas. Ranma jumped out of the booth and freefell toward the racing ground below, Nene having her eyes closed the whole time, wishing Ranma would open his damn wings already so he could slow down there descent. He didn't do until about fifty feet from the ground, skillfully hovering down to a safe landing.  
Releasing his grip of Nene, Ranma ran toward the middle of the street where he shouted, "Expanding Hiryu ShotenHa!" He released a technique that he had improvised on the spot. A column of wind shot up into the sky, so high that it even hit the blimp, sending spiraling it upward. The column then began to grow in radius at an alarming rate, expanding outward in every direction, carrying with it the gas.  
"C'mon, let's get outta here," Ranma said, running back to Nene. He picked her up into his arm and jumped up into the air, just as two figures emerged from the alleyway, following closely behind. Without looking, Ranma knew it was Saffron and Herb.  
Together, the four of them flew in the direction of the slums.

Ranma and Nene were up again in the blimp the next day, at the same time of day, over the same area of the city. Nene was wearing her hair up in a cap to conceal her identity and was also wearing a communicator. In the booth, there were two boxes of rocks in the corner of the booth.  
"Ranma, what are the rocks for?" Nene asked curiously.  
"I'm just thinking ahead," Ranma said, "You'll find out in a short while if all goes accorting to plan. People get predictable, and I'm pretty sure this anti terrorism group's gonna be predictable also,"  
Nene shrugged her shoulders. "Yoohoo," Ranma said into the receiver, "It's me, the crazy terrorism dude! I didn't die the last time around so I decided to try it again!"  
"Nene, there are two helicopters approaching the blimp at your six. They'll be there in two minutes," Nene heard. Nene turned toward Ranma and said, "Two choppers on our six in two minutes,"  
Two minutes later, two helicopters appeared from behind the blimp.  
"All right," Ranma said with a smirk. He spoke into the receiver, "Hey, helicopter pilots. I've got two box full of rocks up here...and I bet I can knock your helicopter out of the sky with just two of them. If you don't back away now, I'm gonna start chucking rocks at you," Ranma pulled a lever that started releasing the gas.  
"W-what are you doing?" Nene shouted, "You're releasing the gas!"  
"I know," Ranma said as he pushed the lever back up. He spoke into the receiver, "You see that gas. Now you know I'm not bluffing. I'm gonna make you shit in your pants and wish you have never become pilots. You must stay behind me while I chuck rocks at you. If you fire a missle, the blimp goes up in flames and the...Ebola Gas gets released. If you fly away, I will release the gas. Basically, you're fucked,"  
"We don't have Ebola Gas," Nene said.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "So? They don't know that," He walked over to the corner of the booth where he picked up the box of rocks. He said, "Hey, Nene, ya wanna cast the first stone?"  
"Um, n-not thank you," Nene said. "Um, a-are you really going to throw rocks at those helicopters?"  
"Yep," he smiled.  
"I shouldn't have even bothered asking,"  
Ranma walked over to the back of the booth where he lowered one of the windows. He picked a few rocks up out of the box and threw them and a nearby building, breaking one of the glass windows. He turned around and walked to the console and clicked on a switch where he could be heard through an external speaker located outside the blimp. He said, "Hey, sniper dude. Don't pretend I didn't see you. I have better aim with the rocks in my hand than you do with that sniper rifle you have because I ain't the one shittin' in my pants, knowing that I only have one shot to kill the person or millions will die,"  
He put the reciver back down and walked over to the back window and proceeded to throw rocks at the closest helicopter. He could easily hit the panicking pilot with one rock and kill him, but he wanted to have fun and missed the cockpit on purpose.  
A moment later, Ranma threw some more rocks at the nearby buildings, hitting several strategically located windows. He walked back to the reciver and said, "Hey, yo, negotiator. I ain't stupid. I know where you place your snipers...I used to work for you guys a short while ago." He handed Nene the receiver and said, "Hey, now they're gonna hafta come up with a whole new plan because they'll probably actually think I know what I'm talking about,"  
"You're evil," Nene commented, laughing.  
Ranma grinned, "Hey, I'm just one step ahead of everyone. That's all."  
He walked back to the back window and threw a rock, his aim true. The rock soared through the air and struck one of the blades, denting it. Because of that dent, the rapidly rotating blade started to make the helicopter unstable. The pilot, unable to continue on or risk crashing into a building, was forced to hover down toward the ground where he made an emergency landing.  
Ranma started laughing. He walked back up front and picked up the receiver, "Hey, you, the remaining helicopter. Come closer to the blimp. I have a missle launcher and I don't know if I can blow you up when you're so far away,"  
He turned around and started laughing when he saw the panicking pilot break off and quickly veer off and around a building. "What a wimp," He picked up the receiver and said, "I'm still having fun, guys! All right, the two helicopters in front of the blimp...the two of you that are hiding behind that building. Come on out so I can throw that other box of rocks at ya!" He waited for a moment, "I ain't stupid! Don't act like I don't see you! I can see your reflection off the windows of the building right next to you!"  
Two helicopters hovered forward in front of the blimp.  
Ranma eyes widened, "Damn, there were two helicopters waitin' to ambush us..."  
"Y-y-you didn't know?"  
Ranma shook his head, "I was only making a guess," He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Oh well. I guess it's too late now,"  
He looked to the right and waved at the window he was passing by and then flipped him the middle finger. He picked up the receiver, "Yeah, right. Like I didn't see you hiding there, sniper dude," He pulled the lever that slowly started releasing the gas, and said into the receiver, "You have just freaked me out. I am releasing the gas. The only way I will stop the flow of the gas is if...you shoot at those two helicopters in front of me,"  
When there was no response, Ranma pulled the lever down some more, allowing the flow of gas to empty out faster, "All right, how about now? If you do not fire at the helicopters in front of me, I will pull the lever all the way down and I will not push it back up." He grinned and he smiled at the window in front of him.  
A moment later, the window shattered and Ranma saw the sniper aiming his rifle toward the helicopter.  
"He's making a fool of them," Nene muttered to herself.  
Ranma smirked and said into the receiver, "All right, sniper dude. Now aim AT the helicopters. I know you're missing it on purpose because I can see the bullets missing and hitting the windows of the building on the other side of `em,"  
The sniper shook his head. Ranma shrugged his shoulder and threw a rock at him, hitting the guy in the head, knocking him out, "He's gonna have a headache in the morning," He walked to the front of the booth and opened the window and proceeded to throw rocks out and at the helicotper, missing them on purpose. The helicopters, hovering in place was actually trying to dodge the rocks.  
"Hey, what the hell are you so scared for?" Ranma said into the receiver, "They're just rocks! You're in a helicopter and can withstand bullets and you're scared of rocks?"  
Ranma then threw two rocks, each rock hit a blade on either heilcopters, causing them both to start wobbling and forcing the pilot to hover down to the groud below when they made an emergency landing.  
"Ain't that irornic," Ranma chuckled, "A two hundren million yen heilcopter...defeated by a rock that I found in my backyard,"  
"Nene, what the hell is Ranma doing up there?" Nene heard Misato's voice, "Is he shooting something at the helicopters? Why did three of them just make emergency landings?"  
"You won't believe me if I told you," Nene answered.  
"Try me,"  
"Ranma threw some rocks at them," Nene replied.  
"You're right, I don't believe you," came Misato's voice, filled with disbelief. After a moment, she said, "Okay, what's your current situation? There are no more helicopters around,"  
Nene asked Ranma, "What's our current situation?"  
"Well, we're in blimp," he replied.  
"Not that," Nene spat, "I'm talking about what are we going to do now?"  
"Oh," he said, "Um, well, we'll release the gas," He took Nene's communicator and said, "Misato, you there? Does this work? Oh yeah, I hafta put it on. Hey, Misato, you there? Does this work?"  
"I hear you, Ranma," she said. She took a deep breath and said, "Um, what did you do to those helicopters back there? Nene said-"  
"I threw some rocks at them," he replied seriously.  
"I'm getting a headache," Misato commented.  
"Take an asprin," he chuckled.  
"Not that kinda headache. My head is starting to hurt from trying to understand you. Well, nevermind that," Misato said, "Anyway, what are you going to do?"  
"I'm gonna release the gas. Meet us at GeoFront again,"  
"All right,"  
Nene wasn't really feeling all that nervous as she piloted in the blimp toward the city. This time, she was with Herb and Saffron and Ranma. Perhaps it was because she knew that three almost god-like people were with her, watching over her. She was once against keeping her identity concealed.  
"Why do we have to come along?" Herb asked, leaning against a side window. He looked out and at the mountains far below. They were about two miles out from the city and slowly approaching it.  
Ranma said, "Well, the city's in a shit fit. They're going to try and intercept the blimp before it reaches the city. That's the best approach they have right now, after having failed miserably twice already. They're going to stop up before we reach the city, so we won't cause another city wide panic."  
"Why do they even bother now?" Taro asked, "Virtually everyone has left after that first stunt you pulled. After that second stunt, the city is labelled the hot zone for terrorism, and pretty much everyone has left,"  
Ranma smiled, "Hey, this third one is going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back and will send everyone packing. After that, we can send out the boomers to scout out anyone remaining and have them scare them outta the city,"  
He looked out the front window where he saw several incoming choppers, "Well, here they come. Let's knock `em outta the sky before they reach us. All we basically do is protect Nene and the blimp,"  
"That won't be hard at all," Saffron smirked, eager to cause some serious damage.  
"Hold up," Ranma said, "We are not out to kill anyone. We are not murderers. All we have to do is damage the helicopters so they can attack us. We can't go around blowing it up or incinerating it,"  
"So how are we going to knock them out of the sky?" Herb asked, curious.  
Ranma walked over to the back of the booth where he picked up three boxes of rocks. He hand one to Saffron and another one to Herb, and said, "We use these rocks,"

"I love you, Ranma," MAGI-01 said, the part that had Ritsuko's personality as a woman. It had this almost sultry sound to it, like it belonged to a woman of great beauty. It was a voice that could capture a man's heart.  
Ranma turned around and looked at the computer, "Eh?" He stared at the computer for a moment, "Man, I must be hearing things," He was alone in the control room, stopping in there just for the hell of it while he was on his way back from the bathroom. Everyone had been in one of the main offices of NeoNerv talking about their upcoming plan, about how there was only a few days left before the Angel attack and the fight for mankind begins.  
"We are very compatible that marriage would be logical. You fascinate me," MAGI-02 said, the part that had Ritsuko's personality as a scientist.  
Ranma turned around and pointed at the computer, "I heard that!" He was pointing at where the voice had originally came from. He walked forward and toward the computer voice had come from. It was a small speaker that had been recently been installed. "Hey, do you hear me?" he asked.  
"I want to have your baby," MAGI-03 said, the part that had Ritsuko's personality as a mother.  
"Man, this is freaky," Ranma commented. He shrugged his shoulderd and said, "Hey, MAGI, can you hear me?" After a few moments of silence, Ranma assumed not. He turned around and headed for the exit, stopping when the computer said, "Please do not leave,"  
He turned back around and looked at the computer again. At that instant, he realized that if the computer can't hear him, it was very likely that it could see him. He looked around the room and looked up at the camera that had been recently been installed in the corner of the room. Sylia had put many security cameras throughout the facility alone with several monitors where everyone could talk to each other from where ever they were within the base while be able to see them.  
He look up at that camera and smiled. He pointed to the ear and mouthed the words, `Can you hear me?'. He realized that the camera had been to his back when he was talking to the computer. Now he was facing it.  
"No, I can not," came the voice.  
"Hm, I should learn sign language then," he said to himself. "Please do, it will be more convenient," came the voice.  
"Ah, so you can read lips," Ranma smiled.  
"Yes, and you have very beautiful lips that I would want to kiss if I had a body," the voice said.  
Ranma smiled, "I bet you would,"  
"You are arrogant," the voice said.  
"I already know that," he said. He then realized something. He walked over to one of the microphones on a control panel and pressed a button that would turn it on, "Can you hear me now?"  
"Yes, I can,"  
Ranma smiled, "Cool," He now knew that she can respond by voice only if he would allow her to hear him via microphone or face toward the camera. He realized that it would be very very convenient to place microphones throughout the facility so the computer could hear him from where ever he was, instead of him having to goto the few intercom console that had been strategically placed throughout. "Well, since it seems like you can hear me through a mike, I'll have them placed all over the place,"  
"That would be even more convenient," the computer said.  
"Hey, do you have a name?" he asked, curious. "No,"  
"I should give ya a name," Ranma said, scratching his chin, thinking for a moment, "It would be a lot nicer than saying `computer' or `MAGI'. Hm, what should I call you?"  
"It does not matter. Whatever name you give me I will oblige by it,"  
Ranma thought for a moment and said, "Ah, I'll call you Eva. How's that for a name? It's kinda cute, wouldn't ya say?"  
"C-cute? Yes, it is," Eva said.  
"Afterall, you have a cute voice," he smiled.  
"You embarrass me," Eva said.  
Ranma said, "Well, I gotta go. I kinda wanna tell the others that you can talk. I'm pretty sure they will be surprised, especially Ritsuko. However, I don't think I'll tell them, not yet. Is there anything else you wanna tell me...besides that you love me, jeez,"  
There was a moment of silence before Eva said, "No,"  
"All right. I've gotta go now. I'll talk to ya later," he said in a plesant voice, "It was nice talking to ya, Eva"  
"Goodbye,"

Rei alone in the livingroom. It was late at night. Everyone starting to get restless, waiting for the Angels to begin attacking except for the two of them Everyone had gone to sleep or was trying to sleep.  
"I wonder where Ranma went?" she asked softly. She had passed Ranma's room, the door had been open and she noticed he wasn't inside. She went into the bathroom, wondering if he was taking another soak in the bathtub again. He was not in there.  
She looked out the window and noticed the lights in the dojo on. She exited out the back door and crossed the yard to the dojo entrance. The door was already opened so she went in. Inside, she saw Ranma doing some kata form.  
"Ranma," she said softly.  
Ranma turned around and noticed Rei. He smiled warmly, "Oh, hi, Rei. What's up?"  
"I can not sleep," she replied.  
He walked over to a small rack and took a towel out and began wiping his face as he walked over to him. Rei noticed that she could smell the slight hint of perspiration from his closeness as he said, "You're not the only one. I couldn't sleep either,"  
There was a moment of silence.  
"Gee, you're kinda hard to talk to, ya know that," Ranma chuckled.  
"Oh?"  
"I dunno," Ranma said, "It's kinda hard to say. It's not like you care or anything, but Saffron and Herb and the others had mentioned that they found it very hard to talk to ya for some reason. Didja know they get all nervous around you?"  
"You don't seem to get nervous," Rei said.  
Ranma smiled and placed a hand on the top of Rei's head as he said, "Why should I get nervous around you?" He shrugged his shoulders. He stepped out of the dojo and sat down on the steps. Rei did the same, sitting down right next to him.  
"It's a nice night out," Ranma said, looking up.  
Rei looked up at the stars, "If you say so,"  
"Hey, you know anythin' about the constellations?" he asked.  
She shook her head, "No, I do not,"  
Ranma pointed up and said, "You see theor stars up there? The ones that seem to glow brighter than the others. If ya connect `em, they form the big dipper,"  
"I don't see it,"  
Ranma leaned toward Rei and took her hand in his. Her brought her hand up and had her point toward the stars. She looked at the location Ranma had made her point and noticed it. Her eyes widened a bit, "Yes, I see it," She also noticed, that Ranma had taken a shower earlier because she could smell the scent of Ranma's shampoo mixed in with his perspiration. She gazed at Ranma.  
Ranma turned toward her and saw her staring at him. He quickly got up and said, "Um, er, w-why are you looking at me like that?"  
"You smell nice," she said.  
Ranma smiled, "Oh. Um, well, thank you." He sat back down next to Rei and said, "Sorry. I guess I overreacted,"  
"Overreacted? To what?"  
Ranma chuckled nervously, "Um, n-nevermind," Realizing that she didn't have some strange infactuation with him like the other girls, "Hey, I jus' realized something. Shinji and Asuka know martial arts, would you like me to teach you?"  
"No thank you," she said, "I am not like them,"  
Ranma said, "What makes you say that?"  
"Y-you know why," she replied.  
Ranma sighed. He said, "You're no different from anyone else. C'mon, you're a living being. Have feelings. Heck, you shouldn't think that way. There's so much to life,"  
"Like what?"  
Ranma smirked, "I dunno. You're fifteen. Have ya ever had your first kiss? How about that? How about falling in love? How about simply enjoying for life?"  
"F-first kiss?" she said, blushing a bit. She had seen that done many times on television and had once been intrigued its significance.  
Ranma nodded, "Yep. Something like that,"  
"Um, what about your first kiss?" she asked, "When did you have that? How did it feel?"  
Ranma was silent for a long moment before he said, "If you really wanna know. All the time, I've been kissed against my wishes,"  
"You have?"  
"Yep. I've never actually kissed a girl on my own free will before,"  
"Would you like to kiss me?" she asked softly.  
Ranma looked at Rei. He couldn't believe the very awkward predicament he had just put himself into. He should have noticed something like this would come up when he had noticed Rei staring at him like that.  
"Um, well..." he began. He scratched the back of his head. He took a deep breath and said, "Um, w-would you w-want me to kiss you? W-would that make you feel better?"  
"I do not know," she said softly, staring up into his eyes.  
"Um, what about Shinji? I thought you like him," he said, trying his best to change the subject.  
Rei said, "Yes, I like him,"  
"So why dontcha kiss him?" he asked.  
"I can not," she replied, "He is like family to me,"  
"Just like you are like family to me," Ranma quickly said, jumping at the chance.  
"Oh," she said, seemingly disappointed. Ranma had definitely noticed this. It seemed to break his heart. He sometimes wished he wasn't so perceptive and able to notice the subtlest changes in everything. "Rei, dontcha know that I'm, like, eighty? You're fifteen," he said, trying the logical approach.  
"Does it matter?"  
Ranma thought about it for a moment, "Well, not really. But that's not the point. Why would you want to share your first kiss with me of all people anyway? It's not like you have a crush on me...d-do you?"  
"Perhaps it is because we are alike," she replied, still gazing up into his eyes, lost in their warmth.  
He smiled warmly at Rei, "You're a sweet girl, Rei. B-but it wouldn't be right if we kissed. W-would you settle for just a hug?"  
"A hug?"  
Ranma said warmly, feeling a bit more comfortable, and said, "All right. Stand up and I'll show you,"  
Rei stood up.  
"Hold your arms out like this," Ranma said, his arms slightly out for an embrace.  
Rei did as she was told. A moment later, she saw Ranma step forward between her outstretched arms and embrace her in a very warm and affectionate hug. She didn't even need to be told what to do as she found her arms wrapping around Ranma's body, her head resting gently in the crook of his neck and one of his shoulders.  
There was this warmth she felt being in Ranma's arms that she had never experienced before. She found it very comforting, like she could get used to this forever. She could feel his ki seemingly flowing right into her. It felt like she was safe in his arms.  
"Y'know what they say about a hug," Ranma smiled, "A hug is free, but it can sure go a long way,"  
He released his embrace but realized Rei was still holding him. He smiled as he wrapped his arms back around her. "Ranma! What are you doing with Rei?" came a voice from behind him.  
Ranma looked over his shoulder and saw Kiema. Since there wasa full moon out, there was enough light out that night for Kiema to get a good look. He smirked, now feeling on much more familiar ground and said, "What, are you jealous?"  
Kiema blushed. She said, "No! I'm not jealous!"  
"Go sneak around and peep on Saffron while he's in the shower or something," Ranma said, "I'm busy here,"  
Rei snickered a bit as she released her embrace of Ranma.  
"I do not peep on Saffron!" Kiema said. For some reason, she realized that there was quite a bit of heat flooding to her cheeks and that she wished she hadn't come outside to inspect a noise she had heard.  
Ranma chuckled a bit, realizing that he had indeed made Rei crack a smile, which he realized was very rare. He wondered if he could actually make her laugh as he continued his teasing, "Well, Kiema, I don't think Saffron would like knowing that you peep on others, like his rival, Herb."  
"I-I d-do not peep on Herb! Nor Lime! Nor Mint! Nor Shinji!" she said. Knowing that there was no way she could win in a war of words with Ranma, Kiema turned around and stormed into the house.  
Rei continued to snicker softly. She found that a bit amusing, the way Ranma was pushing Kiema's button's so easily.  
Ranma smiled, "Kiema, she's so easy to tease,"  
Rei giggled.  
"C'mon, Rei, it's getting late. You better head on in and get some sleep,"  
"What's about you, Ranma?"  
"I'm gonna practice some kata some more before I hit the sack," he replied. Rei turned around and headed for the house, "All right. Good night,"  
"G'night. It was nice...hugging you,"  
Rei giggled again before she entered the house.  
The grown up males stood upon MegaTokyo's largest building, which was the recently erected building that replaced Genom Tower after it was destroyed. It was a nice day out. The streets were quiet, empty of everything.  
"So, today's the day," Taro smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Today's the day the first Angel attacks,"  
"Actually, that's not true. The first Angel will be considered the third Angel," Ranma said, "I think I'm the second Angel of this world,"  
"What about Rei? Ain't she an Angel?" Lime asked.  
"She's the Lilith of this world," Ranma replied, "So she's not considered an Angel," He looked around at everyone, "You guys all ready?"  
"As ready as we can possibly be," Saffron said, "So, what do we do now?"  
Ranma smirked a bit.  
"We wait,"

"Pattern blue!" Asuka said, reading the screen. Even though she would much rather be an EVA pilot battling the Angels, she took the role that Maya would have been resonspible for. She was glad she had payed attention in computer class. It made things a whole lot easier. "It's an Angel. It's coming in front the East shoreline and fast,"  
Misato nodded. Although she looked calm, deep down inside, she was in a state of panic. The first Angel have finally arrived like the real Ranma had predicted. Just like AdamRanma, this Angel signified the many Angels expected to come.  
"Everyone," Rituko asked into the communicator, "The Angel has been detected off the west shoreline." Ranma, Herb, Saffron, Taro, Lime, and Mint were all above ground, all of them most likely waiting patiently for the Angel that was supposed to show up any moment now.  
Misato said, "Ranma, Herb, the two of you will go an intercept. Lime, Mint, Taro, you stay by the shoreline and provide support if the Angel makes it past Ranma and Herb. Ranma, Herb, if the Angel should get past you, let the other three slow it down while the two of you flank it from behind Saffron, you stay behind and provide backup. If it makes it past the three of them, you are our last and only chance,"  
"All right," Everyone said at once. Ranma and Herb turned toward the group. They were all standing on the rooftop of the highest building in all of the evacuated MegaTokyo, which happened to be the newly erected building that replaced Genom Tower after it was destroyed.  
"Well, guys, it's show time," Ranma said seriously, "Whatever you do, do not let the Angel get down to GeoFront,"  
Everyone looked at Ranma, dead serious, "You have my word," they all said in unison.  
Ranma smiled. He turned toward Herb and nodded, "Let's go,"  
Herb and Ranma lept high up into the air, Ranma's wings opening wide, Herb glowing, surrounded by ki. Together, they both headed of the west coast. Lime and Mint and Taro looked at each other before the three of the lept off the building toward the ground far far below, all three of them landing on the ground skillfully and then proceeding to run down the street toward the shoreline.  
Saffron, alone, hovered straight up into the sky for a better view. He held his fist by his side, pointing them toward his feet. A second later, his aura flared as he brought his hands in front of himself and released a massive fireball. It just hovered there, waiting to be released, continuing to grow in power and intensity. "Good luck," he said softly.  
Everyone in the control room watched the screen. Nene was grinning, "I betcha the Japanese government is going to have a shit fit when they find out I hacked into one of their satellites and is using it,"  
Sylia stared at the screen, "If the government knew how much trouble this world was now in, I doubt they would argue,"  
Lisa read the little screen in front of her, "Ranma and Herb will intercept the Angel in approximately ten minutes," She smiled. She liked speaking like that. She could get used to it. Misato nodded, "Good," She then realized something. "T-ten minutes? How the hell is that possible? How fast is Ranma and Herb going?"  
Lisa looked at the reading again and said, "At the current rate, a little over eight hundred miles per hour,"  
"What? When the hell did Ranma learn to fly that goddamn fast?" Ritsuko said, shocked.  
Akane smirked, "Well, you know Ranma. He always seems to surpise us,"  
"Ranma and Herb has engaged the Angel," Linna said. "Hey, I could get used to this. Is that the kind of stuff you say at your work, Nene?"  
Nene laughed slightly and said, "In a way. You're getting the hang of it," "Jeez!" Ranma's voice filtered into the control room through a small speaker, "You've gotta be kidding me!"  
"What's wrong, Ranma?" Misato asked.  
"The goddamn Angel looks like me!" Ranma replied. "I-it looks like you?" Misato said.  
"Yeah, it's a damn handsome looking Angel to boot I might add," came Ranma's comment. Ranma and Herb gazed at the Angel.  
"Why the hell does that Angel look like you, Ranma?" Herb asked, looking back and forth between the Angel and Ranma, unable to discern the difference between the two of them. They even had the same annoying smirk. The only thing that Herb could tell the difference between the two was that the Angel was in front of him while Ranma was right next to him and that Ranma was wearing a communicator over his head.  
"Um, I don't like this one bit," Ranma commented. He realized something as he said, "It's going to be too easy for everyone to mistaken us. Herb, can you handle the Angel on your own?"  
Herb smirked, "Yes,"  
Ranma hovered backwards, toward the shoreline and spoke into his communicator, "There's a change in plans, Misato. The Angel looks too much like me that it's most likely we'll be mistaken. I'm heading back to shore,"  
"All right," everyone heard Misato's voice, "Taro, change into your cursed form to assist Herb against the Angel,"  
"What's wrong?" Taro asked, "Ranma and Herb can't handle it? Are they that weak? Or is Herb too stupid to tell the difference between the Angel and the pansy Ranma,"  
"I ain't no pansy!" Ranma shouted back, heading for the shoreline. He screamed out in pain as a massive explosion struck him from behind. He turned around, gritting his teeth just as the Angel hovered before him. The commuicator was destroyed from the heat of the blast.  
The Angel turned around and shouted, "Herb, I'm heading back to the shore! Taro is on his way! If it weren't for me, the Angel would have gotten through!" It pressed a hand toward its ear and said, "The Angel's playing dirty by destroying my communicator so we won't be able to tell the difference between the two of us,"  
The Angel smirked at Ranma and said, "Ya think you could get past me that easily?" It said it loud enought that Herb could hear as he caught up.  
"W-w-what?" Ranma shouted, "Y-you're the goddamn Angel!"  
Herb caught up to the two and fired a ki-blast at Ranma, narrowly missing him when Ranma managed to twist in mid air at the very last second.  
"You moron! I'm not the Angel!" Ranma shouted.  
Herb smirked and said, "Nice try. I didn't take my eyes off you for a second,"  
The Angel smirked and fly toward the shoreline. As it neared the coast, it saw Taro approaching it. It stopped to hover and say, "What took ya so long? Jeez! Anyway, the Angel's right on my tail and closing in fast! Ya gotta stop him before he makes it to the city because there's two of us and since we're both Angels, you won't be able to tell the difference between the two of us,"  
Taro nodded as he zoomed by the Angel heading in Herb and Ranma's direction.  
"You moron! I'm not the freakin' Angel!" Ranma shouted, dodging back and forth, getting angry. It was having a very difficult time dodging Herb's ki-blasts. Several time Ranma had already been hit and he was breathing heavy. Herb seemed to be having fun tormenting him. Ranma realized something, "If I'm the goddamn Angel! Then how would I know that...I got back at you at that bathhouse by not telling you about the girls expecting me to peep on them!" He quickly went about spewing all kinds of information. He realizsed that the Angel probably knew as much information about him and his past as that SaffronAngel he had fought. "If I'm an Angel, then how the hell do I know that...I threw Taro to the girls side and he said he would kill me if he survived!"  
Herb hesitated for a moment. He remembered Ranma mentioning to him about how the Angels seemed to know about his life because of that mind rape he had undergone. That would mean the Angel would not know the information his opponent had said because it took place after that mind rape.  
"You've got rocks in your brain!" Ranma shouted, "You goddamn lied when you said your eyes never left the Angel because you're attacking me!"  
"So you're not the Angel?" Herb asked.  
Ranma, extremely frustrated and angry, shot a ki-blast at Herb to prove his point, "No, you goddam moron! If I were an Angel, I wouldn't be here wanting to kill you right now!"  
Herb realized that this was the real Ranma. It was very true. The Angel's had one goal, to reach Adam.  
"My communicator was destoryed," Ranma said, "Tell the bases about the mix up! And tell them that the Angel is on its way toward the shoreli-"  
Ranma's sentence was never finished as he found himself getting struck from the back of the head by a charging Taro. The impact of Taro's fist colliding into the back of Ranma's head would have knocked Ranma's head off his shoulders if it weren't for the AT field that constantly surrounded him. "What the hell didja do that for!" Ranma shouted, rubbing his head vigorously. "I ain't the Angel!"  
`Like hell you are' Taro would have said if he could speak. He cocked his arm backwards to hit Ranma again as he was yelling at him only to hear one of Herb's ki-blasts hitting him in the chest.  
The blasted seemed to have gotten Taro's attention as he gritted his teeth and snarled at Herb. "Good, now that we've got your attention!" Herb said, pointing at Ranma, "You've been duped! The Ranma you saw that just passed you was the Angel! This is the real Ranma!"  
Ranma turned toward Herb and said, "Herb, tell everyone in the control room of the mess up!"  
Back at the control room, everyone was going crazy.  
"What the hell's going on up there? Which one is the real Angel?" Misato shouted. MAGI was indicating two Angels, one blue pattern heading straight toward the shoreline and another blue pattern several miles out to sea.  
"The Angel is on it's way toward the city!" Herb's voice echoed into the control room. "We've made a mistake! The Angel is on its way toward the city! Lime and Mint and Saffron are the only ones that can stop it! We're on our way back and won't make it on time!"  
Mint listened careful, "Care to repeat that?"  
"The Angel is on its way!" Herb replied, "You and Lime and Saffron's are the only one's left to stop it! The Ranma you see is the Angel! You must stop it! We are on our way back!"  
Mint's eyes windened as he heard that. He turned toward Lime, "Lime, the Angel has broken through. It's up to us to stop it,"  
Lime smirked and said, "Good, it's about time we have some fun,"  
He looked up and spotted Ranma closing in and fast. Mint said, "If he's the Angel, then he's not going to bother stopping to fight us. We have to distract it so the others can arrive. We have no projectiles like the other so we're going to have to fight it in hand to hand combat,"  
"This is where all that training will be put to the test," Lime said. He walked over to Mint and placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Mint, we're friends and all, but don't take this the wrong way. Since the Angel can fly, we have only one chance of intercepting it out of the air. You're the only one that can stop it from flying,"  
Mint gulped as he realized what the muscle brained Lime was going to do. A second later, he found his feet leaving the ground as Lime picked him up and litterally threw him straight toward the incoming Angel.  
"Argh!" Mint shouted, his arms flailing. He slammed into the incoming Angel's body. Although heavily winded from the impact, Mint locked his legs around the Angel's waist and looked up at the Angel.  
"What the hell's yer problem?" the Angel shouted, "Cantcha see that I'm not the stinkin' Angel?"  
Mint smirked and said, "I ain't that stupid!" He cocked his hand backwards and slammed it right into the Angel's face, hitting it in the same spot over and over again like the way Ranma would do it using his Kashuu Tenshin Amaguriken.  
Without even pausing to see if the Angel had been hurt from the multiple punches, Mint flipped over the Angel's head and grabbed its wings, pressing his feet into the Angel's back as he pulled with all his might, his the muscles of his forearms buldging from the intense strain.  
The Angel twisted in mid air, trying to throw Mint off its back, much to no avail.  
Knowing that he was going to lose his grip on the wings at any moment, Mint put all his strength into giving everything he had at yanking the wings right out of the Angel's back. Luckily for him, it worked as Mint soon found himself falling toward the ground down below.  
"Argh!" Mint shouted, flapping his arms as he held the severed wings, hoping it would slow his descent. Luckily for him, just moments before he landed, Lime leaped into the air front of him and caught him, jumping away from the point of impact as the the Angel slammed into the sand of the beach with thundering force, creating a crater where it landed.  
Landing on the ground skillfully and putting Mint down, Lime ran toward where the happless Angel had landed and was proceeding to get up. He cocked his arm backa nd punched the Angel right in the face, his eyes widening when he saw the Angel smirk as this red barrier formed in front of it.  
"Mint, Lime, I suggest you get away from there," they both heard Saffron's voice through the communicator, "I have the Angel in my sight,"  
Mint and Lime, not needing to be told twice, ran toward the water, knowing that a blast almost akin to a nuclear blast was going to occur at any second.  
Saffron smirked. He was glad he had released that fireball before the battle had begun because it was probably nearing the heat that the sun generated. From his vantage point, he had seen Mint and Lime engaging the Angel. As soon as he saw Mint and Lime running away from the Angel, he allowed the hovering fireball to rocket forward and toward the Angel. It soared through the air at an intense speed, buildings melting from having been within such close proximity of the fireball as it soared right by.  
The blast struck the Angel and enveloped it in a sphere of orange just moments before it erupted in an explosion of near nuclear proportions. A massive mushroom rose up into the sky, the clouds parting, every window within a several mile radius exploding form the shockwave.  
Ranma, Taro, and Herb saw the massive explosion but they continued to fly toward land.  
When the blast subsided, Saffron flew toward the blast and smirked and said, "That was easy,"  
His smirk disappeared when he hovered closer and saw a lone figure standing in the middle of the massive crater, surrounded by a red barrier. The Angel looked up at Saffron and smirked.  
"W-what the?" Saffron muttered, stunned beyond belief. The Angel looked unscathed, that red barrier protecting it.  
"Do it again!" he heard Herb's voice. "I'll destroy it's AT field!"  
Saffron shot out another fireball and let it hover there for a short moment before it shot toward the Angel again. But just moments before it hit the Angel, another blast hit the Angel from behind and the red barrier could be seen shattering right before it was consumed in the blast.  
Once again, a massive mushroom formed, spiraling up into the air. Everyone was forced to shield their eyes form the intensity of its brilliance. When the blast subsided, nothing remained of the Angel.  
"All right!" Ranma cheered, hovering down to the ground, Herb and Taro landing closely behind him. "It's about time it died! Talk about one strong Angel!" They had seen the Angel consumed in the blast just shortly after Herb had hit it with a ki-blast but was thrilled that nothing remained of it after the explosion.  
A minutes later, a soaking wet Lime and Mint emerged from the ocean and walked up the beach to stand next to the group. When Lime had realized what Saffron was about to do, he had grabbed Mint and leaped right into the ocean several hundred meters away. Luckily, they had landed far away from the blast that they hadn't been hurt.  
Saffron was the last to arrive at the scene. He looked down at the destruction that had just occurred.  
Everyone seemed to sigh in relief.

"I can't believe how strong these Angels are," Kiema commented. She and everyone else were in a large room, the debriefing room. They were going over what had happened and where they had gone wrong and needed improvement.  
"Yes," Ritsuko said, nodding her head. "And they get stronger and smarter from here on. God, I can't believe it. This Angel seemed more like an Angel we would probably end up fighting if there were more than seventeen Angels on our world,"  
Saffron, who had been silent until now, said, "How did it manage to survive such a explosion without receiving a singel scratch?"  
"You see, Saffron?" Ranma said, "These Angel's are no laughing matter. They're strong, really strong. The only way that we can seem to defeat them is to destroy their AT field first. From my experience, it seems that ki is what destroys an Angel's AT field. Once the AT field is gone, then the Angel can be destroyed easily," "If it's AT field is supposedly impenetrable, then how did I manage to rip off its wings?" Mint asked.  
"I think it's because we all possess ki that that made it possible," Ranma said with a shrug of his shoulders, "But I don't know that for sure. It's just a guess,"  
"After this battle, we have a lot of things to discuss," Sylia said, "Like the fact that, although we think we're prepared, we are no where near as prepared as we should be,"  
Everyone seemed to nod in agreement.

"Hey look, the military's here," Ranma commented. He was on top of the highest building, looking over the massive city when he saw several tanks making its way down the street. He and the rest of the adult males were on top of the building. From inside the control room, Misato said, "We were expecting this sooner or later. It's not like you can evactuate an entire city without someone getting suspicious. Where are they right now?" She wished Nene had absolute control over those military satelites she had hacked into instead of having to rehack into the system everytime around. She turned toward Nene, "Nene, is there any easier way to be able to use those satelites exclusively?"  
Nene shook her head, "I'm sorry,"  
Misato came up with an idea and figured it wouldn't hurt. She said into the communicator, "Ranma, do you think you and the boys can steal recon truck?"  
"A what?" Ranma asked.  
"A big truck with a satellite dish on in," she said it in simpler terms.  
"Yeah, what do ya want us to do with it?"  
"Can you steal one of them and bring it back to NeoNerv. Perhaps we can use it as our own and since it would have a special military code, we will be able to use it and tap into the orbitting satellites whenever we like," Misato said. She turned around and looked at everyone in the control room and said, "Hey, it might work. It's always worth a try,"  
"Sure, we can do that," came Ranma's voice, "But what should we do about the tanks? There are three tanks, a missle launching looking tank, and that truck ya described,"  
"What else? Destroy them," she replied, "I'm not even bothering to tell you to keep the casualties to a minimum,"  
"I think you just did," Ranma seemed to chuckled into the communicator. He turned toward the others and said, "Okay guys, you heard the lady. We've got a truck to steal,"  
Everyone seemed to smile. It had been two days since the Angel attack and the time when the military finally decided to mobilize and investigate MegaTokyo.

"I have a question," Ranma said. He was in the middle of the slums with the other guys. He had been told to bring the truck here and wait while Nene and Sylia made they way to the randevous point. They were all surrounding the satellite truck that they had stolen an hour ago. In the distant horizon smoke could be seen from the destroyed trucks.  
"What is it?" Herb asked.  
"We just took on three military tanks without breaking a sweat," he began, "Lime ripped one of the turrets off the tank itself with his barehands while I flipped a tank on its back while you, Herb, simply shot something at it that made it stop functioning all together,"  
"Yeah, so?" Saffron asked, "What's your point?"  
"Do you think we are getting too strong?" Ranma asked, "I mean I didn't even have trouble flipping it. Don't tanks weigh, like, ten tons,"  
"They weigh a lot more than that," Lime said. The turret itself weight more than what Ranma had mentioned.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders and said, "Hm, well, to me, it felt rather light,"  
Herb, Saffron, Lime, Herb, Taro, and Mint looked at one another.  
"Hey, Eva, can you hear me?"  
"Yes,"  
Ranma smiled, "Cool. It works. I'm talking to you from the front entrance. I just put the microphone in myself. A pretty nifty job I might say, considerin' I've never done something like this,"  
"If I had lips, I would smile,"  
Ranma chuckled, "Well, at least it ain't you thinking hentai thoughts and havin' those lips on mine,"  
"That is all I think about,"  
He seemed to stop laughing as he said, "Eva, you're freaking me out,"  
"I don't mean to,"  
"I'm just jokin' around," he chuckled, "Anyway, I'm gonna install the rest of the mikes throughout the facility. I'll install the cameras the next time around,"  
"I appreciate that,"  
"No prob," he said. Ranma spent the rest of his day installing microphones throughout the entire facility, even going as far as installing on at the bottom of the cylinder-like structure under NeoNerv where a lone tombstone stood, Ranma's grave. He had no problem spending so much time. A week had already passsed since the last Angel had attacked. Ranma and company were constantly battling the army that tried to make they way into MegaTokyo to find out what the hell was going on ever since that satellite refused to respond to them when they wanted orbital scans of the area.  
As the day neared an end, Ranma sat down on the chair in the control room and said into the microphone, "Yo, Eva, you there?"  
"I'm always here,"  
"I have a question," he said. "Yes, I will marry you and have your child," came Eva's response.  
"No, not that! Jeez, you're one hentai computer!" he said. Eva semed to actually giggle.  
"The question I was trying to ask you is on why you only speak when I'm around," he said.  
"It is merely a preference. I prefer to speak to you than anyone else,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever you say. It's just that I'm pretty sure Ritsuko would love the fact that you can speak,"  
"You are welcome to tell my creator and anyone else if you like," Eva said, "Have you not told them yet?"  
"Nope," he replied.  
"Why not?"  
"It's none of my business anyway," Ranma said, "If you wanna talk to them, then you'll talk to them when you feel the time is right, that's all,"  
"That is very thoughtful of you,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders. He then said, "I have another question. How come you don't detect me as an Angel?" he asked.  
"That is easy, it is because, unlike the Angel that had attacked, you are true Angel,"  
Ranma seemed confused, "Huh?"  
"Unlike the other Angel, you are a true Angel," Eva said, "Although my creator says I should consider you human, you are one hundred percent Angel. The Angel that had attacked in only ninety nine point eight six percent Angel,"  
"Then what is the point one four percent?" he asked.  
"The lack of this intangible entity called ki,"

"Hey, Eva, ya see me?" Ranma asked, waving his hands, jumping up and down in front of the camera.  
"Yes, every beautiful inch of you. Unfortunately, you are clothed,"  
"Man, I oughta do something aboutcha. You're more hentai than all the girls combined," Ranma smirked, "But then again, I guess that's your distinguishable personality. Anyway, I just wanted to check to see if the camera was workin', that's all,"  
"My creator had been tinkering with me," Eva said, wanting to continue the conversation.  
"Oh?" Ranma asked, "Ain't that a good thing?"  
"With every day, I become more sentient,"  
Ranma smiled, "Oh, I know that. Ritsuko told me about that. She says she wants to make you better than the MAGI her mom had ever created. But then again, ain't you becoming sentient a bad thing?" Ranma said, "I've seen these movies where these thinking computers take over the world," "I am already sentient," Eva said, "But I have no intention of taking over the world,"  
"You're pretty cool, Eva," Ranma smiled.  
"If I can blush, then I would. Thank you,"

"Hey, Eva, it's me,"  
"I know, I saw you as you approached NeoNerv just a minute ago,"  
Ranma smiled, "Well, I guess I don't need to tell ya of my presence anymore, ne? I mean, all the microphones and cameras have been installed."  
"Yes, and I appreciate it very much,"  
"Hey, I talked to Lisa about makin' a body for you," he said, "She has no real idea why she's building it but she assumes it's for a good purpose, which it is," He chuckled, "Of course, she couldn't help but assume it's for somethin hentai. But when I said no, she simply trusted me and told me she would have one built in a couple of days,"  
"That is very nice of her,"  
"Yeah, she's nice," he said. He turned turned around and looked at the long trek between the base and the exit point to the world above. He asked, "Do you think there's an easier way to close the gap between the base and the entrance into GeoFront?"  
"I do not know,"  
All of a sudden, Ranma heard a loud explosion from above.  
"What's going on up there?" Ranma asked.  
"The army has finally broken through the blockade you have created for them and are currently mobilizing throughout the city," came her reply, "Several of your friends have engaged in battle with them to frighten them off,"  
Ranma sighed, "I don't like this."  
"What do you not like?"  
"Can't the Japanese Government tell that we're trying to help?" he said, a bit annoyed, "Why the hell do they hafta go and do that? I mean, sure, the way I evacuated the city was through some rather unorthodox means, but it got the job done,"  
"Perhaps you should visit the capital building and tell them about it,"  
"It doesn't work," he replied, "They don't believe us. We tried that the first time around but they wouldn't really listen. That's why we had them evacuated the hard way. Man, this kinda sucks. I mean, in between Angels, we hafta worry about the Japanese army,"  
"Sooner or later, the rest of the world will be involved," Eva said logically, "It is only a matter of time before the UN takes intervention,"  
Ranma was silent.

Everything started turning for the worse by the time the second week had passed, which is only a day before Eva's body was to be created. Ranma and the others had their hands full, fighting off the Japanese army. There seemed to be more tanks being destoryed with every passing day, but the army persisted.  
It seems that the Japanese believe everything had been one huge set up and that some militia had taken over MegaTokyo, and they were intent on reclaiming it back so the citizens can finally get back to their lives again.  
By now, all the adult males have been identified and considered a national threat. They were considered a new breed of superboomer that some private corporation had created illegally. With no mercy, the tanks shot to kill. Unfortunately for them, Ranma and his friends were much more than a match for the army for they could see the projectiles coming and easily dodge them.  
The outskirts of MegaTokyo, where all the battles had taken place, had been reduced to nothing but rubble, and that seriously ticked Ranma off. "What the hell are we going to do?" Taro sneered, looking down the street at the three incoming tanks.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno. Why the hell is all of this happening? They don't listen when we tell them about the Angels, believing we're a armeggedon malitia. They shoot to kill. They have to no regard for the structures they destroy. Heck, they destroy more buildings that you have, Taro, and that's saying a lot,"  
"Perhaps we should hit them where it hurts," Taro said, "Let's take out their bases. Let's go on the offensive,"  
Ranma nodded, "We'll do that tomorrow night,"

Ranma, Herb, and Taro hovered high above the air. It was night out "The base is just below us," Ranma said, pointing down toward the clouds by their feet.  
"What should we do?" Herb asked.  
"How about this? Me and Taro'll attack the base directly," Ranma said, "Herb, you should take care of any incoming air support because there's an air base not too far from here,"  
Everyone nodded. A moment later, Taro and Ranma dove down, disappearing into the clouds. Herb simply floated downward. He floated in place when he was below the clouds, able to see anything within a fifty mile radius of where he was. Below him, Ranma and Taro attacked the base. Within minutes, Ranma started to destroy every single tank and plane, shooting a massive ki-  
blast into the group of tanks located in a nice, neat row, doing the same for the place. Taro seemed to have fun as the sirens could be heard throughout the base as he continue to incapcitate soldier and soldier, pinning them all within their barracks when he decided change into his monster form, picked up a couple of destroyed tanks, and dropped the debris in front of the barracks' entrances. "Man, this is fun," Ranma chuckled, destroying one plane after another, rotating between destroying a plane and a tank. "Hey, Taro, ya wanna do this? It's very fun. It's much more fun destroyin' these things when they're not trying to kill us,"  
"Angel!" Herb shouted.  
Ranma and Taro stopped what they were doing and looked up at Herb.  
"What did you say?" Taro asked.  
Herb pointed in the direction of MegaTokyo and said, "I just saw Saffron's signal. An Angel had been detected! We have to get back! Now!" Without waiting, Herb shot off in the direction of MegaTokyo, where he could see mushrooming explosion after explosion erupting throughout the city.  
Ranma and Taro immediately stopped everything they were doing and lept high into the air, leaving behind what remained of an utterly destroyed base, flying toward the city at an intense speed.

"The Angel is inside GeoFront and slowly making its way toward NeoNerv!" Asuka shouted, looking at the screen with shock. "This is not good," Misato commented, looking up at the main screen. In the far off distance of GeoFront, she could make out the figure of the Angel. It looked exactly like the same Angel as the first Angel that had attacked, meaning it was an exact replica of Ranma. The only thing blocking the Angel's path were Saffron, Lime, and Mint. High above them there was a huge gaping hole where Saffron had shot that fireball up through to signal the others. Still, it would take some time before they got back.  
Saffron was releasing fireball after fireball at the smirking Angel, none of his projectiles hurting it, a red barrier forming in front of it everytime the projectile was supposed to hit it. Saffron was swearing as he continued to take steps backward as the Angel advanced slowly, mockingly.  
"What's up, Saffy-chan? I'm too strong for you?" the Angel said.  
"You're nothing without that AT field of yours!" Saffron sneered. He couldn't believe he had mistakened the Angel for Ranma. It wasn't until after the Angel had struck him through no reason whatsoever, seriously injuring him, did Saffron realize his mistake.  
In the control room, everyone was going ballistic, trying to come up with a plan to stopping the Angel.  
"Saffron can't get past that damn AT field!" Kiema said, looking at the screen, constantly noticing that red barrier. "That damn barrier's impenetrable!"  
"I mustn't run away," Shinji seemed to keep muttering to himself.  
"That barrier can be neutralized by another AT field, but we don't have the EVAs!" Ritsuko said, "The only thing that we could do is to destroy the barrier and that's through the use of either Ranma or Herb's ki-blasts!"  
"But they are not here! They won't be here for another five mintues!" Lisa shouted, tracking Ranma, Taro, and Herb's approach toward MegaTokyo. She calculated that it would take roughly four minutes for them to reach MegaTokyo and another one to make it down to Geofront.  
"I mustn't run away," Shinji continued to mutter.  
"Shit! We've got no choice! We've got to self destruct the base!" Misato shouted. She turned toward Priss, "Priss, prepare to self destruct the base! Set it on three minutes! That'll give just just enough time to get away!"  
Priss gritted her teeth, "Shit! I can't believe we're going to self destruct this base! This base had been built only a few weeks ago! Isn't there another way!"  
"Don't question me, Priss!" Misato shouted back, "We're in deep shit right now! That's the only alternative!"  
"I'm not going to run away!" Shinji shouted. Everyone turned to look at him.  
"What the hell are you babbling about?" Asuka muttered.  
Shinji didn't answer. He simply ran out of the control room as fast as his legs could take him.  
"W-where the hell is he going?" Kiema shouted. When she realized no one else knew, she quickly flew out of the control room after him.  
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Misato shouted, "What the hell is Shinji up to?"  
"He's heading toward the front entrance!" Linna said, watching the screen as it pan from one shot to another as Shinji ran down toward the corrido. She was grateful Ranma had put thos cameras in. But then she realized something, "W-why the hell's he headed for the front entrance?" She picked up the microphone and shouted into it, "What are you doing Shinji? The Angel is just outside!"  
Shinji continued running, right out the front entrance.  
"Keima!" Misato shouted into her microphone, "You've got to stop him!"  
Shinji ran out of NeoNerv and into the vast open area of GeoFront. Straight ahead of him, he could see Saffron's back as he took steps back toward the base, continuing to shoot fireballs at the slowly advancing Angel, none of his projectiles having an effect. Lime and Mint could do nothing, knowing their punches and kicks would simply bounce off.  
Mint sensed something approaching them from behind and turned around and saw Shinji. "Shinji, what are you doing out here? Get back inside!" he said.  
Shinji gritted his teeth, "Please, let this work!" He ran right past Lime and Mint and Saffron, who had stopped firing fireballs because he didn't want Shinji getting hurt in the process.  
"What the hell's he doing?" Saffron commented, eyes widening. He then realized Shinji was actually charging toward the Ranma replica. "Shinji, get away from him!"  
Tears streaming from his eyes, not knowing whether or not this was his last moment on earth, with his friends, Shinji cocked his arm back just as her reached the smirking Angel, and sent his fist right into the Angel's jaw.  
Everyone in the control room gasped as they saw the red barrier forming in front of the Angel simply shatter like glass. They watched as the Angel's head was jerked back from the impact of Shinji's punch. Everyone suddenly realized that, somehow, Shinji had just destroyed the Angel's AT field. Otherwise, the Angel wouldn't have been effected by that punch.  
The Angel brough his head back down and smirked, "Very good Shinji, but not good enough," It cocked his hand back and struck Shinji, hard, right in the face, sending him bodily through the air, landing on the ground several meters away, motionless.  
"You motherfucker!" Saffron and Mint and Lime seemed to shout in unison. All three of them charged the Angel.  
Saffron was struck in the chest by a massive energy blast the Angel had shot, sending him flying through the air, landing near Shinji's unmoving form, clutching his chest in pain, hard of breath. Kiema rushed up to the two of them. She looked at Saffron and then back at Shinji as he lie motionless and then back at Saffron.  
"Take him back to the base," Saffron said through gritted teeth. "We'll take care of the Angel,"  
Kiema nodded and she bent down and picked Shinji gently up in her arms and proceeded back toward the base.  
"Y-you'll pay for that!" Saffron sneered, getting to his feet. He got to his feet just as Mint slammed into him, blown bodily through the air by a energy blast that had struck Saffron a second earlier. The two of them went tumbling to the ground, winded.  
The Angel shot another energy blast at the enraged Lime, expecting to blow him backwards just like the other two but was stunned to see Lime cross his arms in front of his chest and simply absorb the explosion, but continuing on running forward, slightly singed but serious pissed.  
Lime reached a muscular arm out and grabbed the Ranma replica by the temples, lifting him up into the air and slamming him down into the ground on his back, his head becoming embedded into the ground because of the impact.  
From there, still holding the Angel by the face, Lime proceeded to run forward, scraping the Angel on the ground in the same fashion as Unit-01 had done to the SaffronAngel on the world where Ranma had been born. He proceeded to scrap the Angel on the ground for several hundred meters before he stopped.  
"Don't think I'm through with you yet!" Lime sneered. He placed a foot on the Angel's chest as grabbed one of the Angel's arms. Gritting his teeth, he yanked as hard as he could. In an instant, a loud popping sound could be heard as the Angel's shoulder seemed to be dislocated. The Angel let out a scream as if in pain. A moment later, it opened its eyes and looked up at Lime, sneering as it said, "You're going to have to do much better than that!" "I will!" Lime replied, smirking. He cocked a hand back and brought it down right on the Angel's face with such force that the ground cracked open when the back of the Angel's head struck the ground. He then bought a massive foot up and back down on the Angel's face, continuing to do so until he turned toward Saffron, who was making his way toward him and the Angel, fuming, his aura flaring.  
Lime looked at the Angel and smirked, "You're dead," And then jumped off the Angel's body and ran away from him. A moment later a massive fireball shot forward from Saffron's extended hand and hit the Angel as it was getting back up. The Angel let out a roar of pain as it was consumed in the blast.  
When the blast subsided, the Angel was no more.

Shinji slowly opened his eyes. Everyone was by his side.  
"Shinji," Akane said, concern in her voice, "Are you okay? How do you feel?"  
Shinji looked around. It took him several moment before he realized he was in the infirmary of NeoNerv. He tried to sit upright but he hurt all over. "W-what happened?" he said weakly, "My head is killing me,"  
"You've been in a coma for three days," Kiema said, a bit of relief in her voice, "But it looks like you're going to be okay," She was very glad that she knew a lot about medicine and healing. Otherwise, Shinji could have died. Sure, she had been forced to learn how to use the medical equipement that Ranma and the others had brought to NeoNerv from that evacuated hospital, but she got the hang of it in no time. The medicine seemed to be a great substitution for the herbs she knew about. They were basically the same. Mending broken bones and ruptured internal organs was another thing.  
"D-did you stop that Angel?" Shinji asked weakly, looking up at the ceiling.  
"Yep, thanks to you," Lime smiled, "You managed to destroy the AT field that was protecting it,"  
"And speaking of which, how did you manage to destroy it anyway?" Ranma asked. "I saw the videos and, frankly, I'm very very impressed,"  
Everyone turned toward Ranma.  
"Can't you see Shinji needs his rest?" Akane said, getting angry, "I don't think he'll appreciate you asking questions just moments after he wakes up from his coma. Jeez. You're such an idiot,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Sorry, Shinji. I shoulda been more thoughtful. I'll letcha rest," "It's okay," Shinji said, smiling a bit. He found his strength coming back all of a sudden.  
Everyone looked at him, listening intently.  
"I remember a while while back," Shinji began, "That Ranma demonstrated what ki was and how everyone had it. When I was in the control room, and I realized that the only way to get rid of that AT field, I figured that perhaps I could do something about it, put all that knowledge that Ranma and Herb had taught me to good use,"  
Ranma smirked, "Hey, I guess it had been a good idea to room you and Herb together, afterall, ne?"  
Shinji nodded.  
Asuka muttered, "I betcha Shinji's going to get all cocky, now that he knows how to harness ki and all," She crossed her arms over her shoulders and glared at Shinji, "Well, I'm not worried. I'll still kick your ass in a fight,"  
Shinji laughed a bit.  
"What? What's so damn funny?" Asuka asked.  
Ranma placed a hand on Asuka's shoulder and said, "Give it up, Asuka. Shinji'll beat you. You've been slacking off on your training while Shinji has been picking it up more," He shrugged his shoulders, "Besides, she's a girl. The only way she can beat Shinji is because Shinji, being a guy and all, doesn't fight back as much as he'd like to,"  
All the girls glared at Ranma and said in unison, "What did you just say?"  
Ranma chuckled weakly,  
"I'll shut up now,"

"'ello?"  
"Hiya, Jun," Ranma said into the receiver with a smile, "It's Uncle Ranma,"  
"Ranma! It's nice to hear from you!" Jun said happily, "I missed you,"  
"I missed you, too," he said, "So, how's life over there in Hokkaido? Do you like it there? I'm sorry you had to evactuate the city with your mom and dad like everyone else, but it had to do with something very important,"  
"It's fun," Jun said, "I made some new friends. They're nice. Their names are Meggie and Jessie. They're twins. They're older than me though, but we all play together in the playground. Yesterday, I went down and went boom, and Meggie and Jessie's daddy. He helped make it better by putting this really cute band-aide on it. He's a doctor,"  
Ranma smiled a bit. "That's very good to hear," he said patiently.  
"Do ya wanna speak with mommy or daddy?"  
"Sure,"  
After a moment, Madigan picked up the reciver, "Ranma, how's everything going? Is everything fine out in MegaTokyo? We've been watching the news and it says that the army is trying to take MegaTokyo because because they think you're some kind of superboomer militia group that had taken over the city,"  
Ranma chuckled, "It's going fine. I guess what you don't know is that the army is pretty much running dry on resources. About a beek ago, we attacked on of their bases and destoryed quite a bit. Of course, the public would never know about that because the army don't wanna seem incompetent and all,"  
"Y-you attacked t-their base?" Madigan said. "Are you nuts? You've got to be suicidal or something,"  
"Not really, I had Herb and Taro help out,"  
"Well, that's a different story," Madigan said with a laugh, "I assume you had fun then,"  
"Quite a bit," Ranma said, "But that's aside from the point. Anyway, I called to ask you for some help,"  
"Anytime," she replied, "What kind of help do you need?"  
"Do you know of anyone that you can send to us that can help us out in a medical sense?" he asked. When he realized what Madigan was going to ask, he added, "No one's hurt. At least not yet. It's just that none of us really know much about healing. Kiema knows quite a bit, but nothing beyond healing minor injuries. God forbid if any of us suffer major injuries, like organ damage or something, then we'll be in trouble,"  
Madigan said, "Of course I can help. I have several close friends that would help out. Of course, the problem is getting them to MegaTokyo. That's the problem,"  
"I'll use the nanban mirror then,"

"This is gonna be our new medical team," Ranma said, gesturing toward the small group of doctors and nurses, "They're going to heal us whenever we get hurt or whatever. They're going to be staying here at NeoNerv,"  
Misato's eyes narrowed toward them. This was rather suspicious. Most of the doctors did look young, like they were fresh out of medical school or first year residents. However, they could be spies posing as doctors.  
Ranma noticed this and chuckled. He turned toward the medical team and said, "Oh yeah, just to be on the safe side. If you guys are spies sent by the Japanese Army, don't bother trying to relay information to them. We've already got enough problems as it is, what with the Angels attacking,"  
The members of the medical team looked at each other, wondering what the hell Ranma was babbling about.  
Misato sighed. There were ways of handling double agents, and Ranma seemed to have chucked that right out the window.  
"There are several sleeping quarters in NeoNerv," Ranma said with a warm smile, "Welcome to the family,"

Ranma was bored. There was roughly one week after Shinji had fully recovered after that second Angel attack. What was he going to do to keep his time occupied before the next Angel attack? The army was still in the process of trying to mobilize and would probably take another few days before they would attack again.  
Although it had been fun at first, training all day against Saffron, Herb, Taro, Mint, and Lime were slowly getting tedious.  
After fighting for eight or night hours straight, everyone was now becoming predictable. At least Ranma noticed it. He didn't know if he getting predictable or not. He assumed not because everyone was having more and more trouble fending him off with every passing training session.  
He was with Saffron and Herb, all three of them high up in the stratosphere. The moon could be seen glowing brightly in the far off distance, illuminating the clouds below them.  
"Hey, I'm just curious," Ranma said, "Let's have a little game to see who has the strongest projectile. The one with the strongest one wins," "It is obvious that it isn't going to be you," Saffron smirked, "You have yet to beat any of us in mid air combat,"  
"First off, I keep on losing because I can't fly as well as you or Herb could," Ramna replied, "I've only learned to use these damn wings only a few months ago so give me credit,"  
Saffron and Herb both smirked a bit. Saffron said, "I must admit that considering that you have come a long way with your flying ablilty. Although I don't like admitting it, you are getting more agile with every passing day. Sooner or later, you will be able to give us a run for our money,"  
"That is, until you decide to get serious," Ranma smirked.  
Herb and Saffron laughed, "You learn quick, Ranma," Herb said, "I assume you realize that the both of us hold back on showing our true powers,"  
Ranma nodded, "Yes, I do,"  
"Very well," Saffron said, "If you really want to see a demonstration of my true power, I'll show you. Let's just say that if what I use was ever seen aside from it being a demonstration, you will most likely die, even if you're miles and miles away from its point of impact,"  
Herb and Ranma gazed at Saffron, both of them very very curious. This would be the first time they ever saw Saffron using powers that he was capable of generating.  
"I'll shoot it into the middle of the ocean," Saffron said, diving down toward the Earth below. Herb and Ranma followed closely behind. After an hour of non-stop flying, Saffron said, "All right, this should be good enough. We're far away from the land that no one will get hurt,"  
Herb and Ranma looked at each other. Was it that powerful?  
They both hovered behind Saffron, knowing that he was going to shoot it straight into the water at an angel, where there was nothing water in the projectile's intended path...provided it isn't strong enough to actually keep travelling and hitting the ocean floor a couple miles below.  
Saffron closed his eyes for a moment, his fists facing his feet, as he allowed his aura to flare so greatly that Ranma and Herb were both forced to shield their eyes from its intensity. A moment later, it disappeared just and Ranma and Herb were able to see Saffron extend both hands forward and release a massive fireball. The fireball hovered just a meter in front of Saffron.  
Ranma's eyes widened. He remembered seeing Saffron use that technique before, when they were younger. "Stay back, the two of you!" Saffron said, his eyes still closed. Ranma and Herb hovered further backwards, till the were roughly twenty or so meters behind him and slightly off to the side.  
Saffron stayed in that position for a moment, Herb and Ranma staring in awe as they withnessed the fireball growing large and large, until it ws roughly the size of Saffron in diameter. When if finally grew that large, Saffron shouted out, "Royal Inferno of Instant Destruction!"  
The massive fireball rocketed forward in an instant, creating a massive drag effect from its shear size and intese velocity, a massive boomer resounding through the air as it broke the sound barrier in an instant, increasing speeds as it approached the speed of light, shooting right into the ocean. "Holy shit!" Ranma muttered, shocked beyond belief. He watched as the ocean seemingly parted as the fereball hit into it. But what shocked him wasn't that the waters were parts but they were actually evaporizing. He looked right down into the hole the fereball had created and could actually see the ocean floor just a split second before the water filled in gaping hole.  
Saffron smirked, "How's that for a little demonstration?"  
Ranma's mouth was wide open, "I-I never even suspected t-that you could get that strong! Holy shit!" He held out his hand. It was trembling because he was probably in a state of shock, disbelief, and terror at having beheld something so powerful.  
"That wasn't so impressive," Herb smirked, his arms crossed over his chest. He had this wry grin that almost annoyed Saffron to no end. Saffron accepted Herb's challenge, "All right," He hovered backwards, "Let's see if you're bluffing or not. Let's see if you could do better?"  
"I'm not bluffing," Herb smiled.  
Ranma, still in a state of shock, hovered backward as Saffron did the same. They followed Herb as he hovered about a mile up into the air. Despite being so high up, none of them could see land in any direction.  
They both watched as Herb held one hand upward, palm open and toward the sky, closed his eyes and began concentrating, his aura flaring, glowing a bright red. He remained in the position for a minute before a small sphere of energy appeared above his hand. The moment it appeared, Herb brought his arm down, aiming it toward the ocean far below.  
"What a puny ki-blast," Saffron smirked. The ki-blast looked like it was the size of a baseball. The smirk was wiped off his face when the sphere expanded outward at an extremely fast rate, continuing to grow unit it was roughly a quarter mile in diameter, which was far far larger than Saffron's fireball. He watched with a hidden awe as Herb's massive ki-blast hit the water and became submerged. The light that emanated could be seen even as it travelled down toward the murky depths below. It travelled down into the ocean for a quarter of a mile before it exploded.  
Ranma's eyes widened in disbelief as he witness a massive explosion, only to quickly see it disapper to reveal a huge hold in the ocean. Within moments, the waters seeped into the hole, filling it up. Ranma twitched a bit. It seems a double shock to the system wasn't a good thing.  
"That wasn't so impressive," Saffron muttered, "Mine was much better. I evaporated the water all the way down to the ocean floor. You simply parted it."  
Herb chuckled, "You must be in denial. My blast is clearly more powerful than yours,"  
They both turned toward Ranma, and said in unison, "Ranma, whose projectile is strongest?"  
Ranma snapped back to reality and looked at Herb and Saffron for a moment. Looking back and froth between them, all he could say way, "I don't know. They both seem equally powerful,"  
Herb and Saffron glared at Ranma.  
"All right, now it's your turn, Ranma," Saffron smirked, "We showed you ours. Now it's your turn to show us yours,"  
Ranma laughed, "You know how funny that sounds? It sounds like we're trying to see who has the largest di-"  
"Show us your ki-blast, you moron!" Herb and Saffron shouted menacingly.  
"Okay, okay," Ranma said, holding a hand up defensively.  
He took a deep breath, calming himself down while Herb and Saffron hover behind him, a good distance away. They were both forced to cover their eyes from the intensity of Ranma's aura as it flared brightly. When their eyes got used to the intensity, they saw Ranma cup his hands together and hold it near his right hip. Rays of light and energy could be seen escaping from his fingertips and he gritted his teeth, as if trying to focus all his ki into his strongest ki-blast ever.  
He held that position for a minute. He concentrated on recreating that beam of pure ki he had once shot out at the Saffron Angel back on the other world, the world where he had been born. He didn't really know how to exactly recreate it so he assumed it had to do with pure emotions since he had been in pure rage.  
All of a sudden, an image of seeing all his friends getting killed popped up into his head, bringing him over the edge, as he shouted out, tears forming from his eyes, "Perfect Seppukku Mouko Takabisha!"  
He brought both hands forward and released all of his ki. Herb and Saffron both saw a red barrier-like wall form in front of Ranma, expanding outward in every direction, creating this vast wall of rippling energy as a massive column of ki shot out from his extended hands, spiralling down toward the ocean far below. Herb and Saffron both gasped at the sight of the energy Ranma had generated, expanding to the diameter of Ranma's height.  
They watched as it shot into the water, disintigrating it as the column continued down toward the ocean floor, probably continuing on into the ground and shooting all the way out the other side of the world at this rate. But that would never happen.  
The column of energy and ki died almost as quickly as it had been generated. Herb and Saffron turned their attention toward where Ranma had once been and noticed that he was no longer there. They both looked down and caught sight of an unconsious falling toward the waters far below.  
Herb and Saffron both swooped down and caught Ranma, Saffron grabbing one arm while Herb grabbed the other just a hundred or so feet before Ranma hit the water. Together, they but Ranma's arms over their shoulder and slowly made their way toward Japan many many miles away from where they were.  
Herb and Saffron just looked each other.  
They knew they lost.  
"We're telling you, that is what had happened," Herb said. He and Saffron and the others were gathered around a hospital bed where Ranma lay motionless, "Hey shot out this massive column of pure ki and simply fainted while in mid air. Saffron and I caught him before he fell into the ocean,"  
"How? Ranma doesn't know something like that!" Asuka spat, angry. She had been terrified to see a motionless Ranma being carried into the house by Herb and Saffron late that night. She had gotten dressed and rushed him toward the hospital, not wanting to go all the way to NeoNerv infirmary, with Akane and the others in tow, Akane calling the others about Ranma's conditions when she got there. Even though it was around three in the morning, everyone showed up, signifying how much people cared for him.  
Asuka slapped Herb and Saffron, tears threatening to form from her eyes, "You're lying! I know how the two of you dislike Ranma!"  
Saffron and Herb said nothing. Saffron was about to say something until he saw several girls standing behind Asuka shaking their heads. He, too, kept silent.  
"How can you let this happen? Or did you simply want this to happen?" she continued on. Asuka was very emotional, on the brink of tears. She had already seen this once, where Ranma had been at the hospital. And what had happened when he was here? He had died! Did this Ranma have to die also? She looked at Ranma as he lie on the bed, eyes closed.  
"Now now, Asuka," Akane comforted her.  
The door opened and in entered a doctor, "Miss Tendo, he's going to be fine,"  
"How do you know?" Asuka asked, stepping in front of Akane. "How do we know he doesn't have a bad heart?"  
There was an awkward silence in the room. Everyone knew how the real Ranma, on how his heart had failed him. At that point, Herb and Saffron finally realized what Asuka was acting so emotional. She had been the one that had pretty much seen Ranma die.  
"T-there's nothing wrong with him," the doctor said nervously, "He's just suffering from extreme exhaustion,"  
"Calm down, Asuka," Misato said, "Keep in mind that the doctor has volunteered to help us. He doesn't need to be doing this for us, but he does,"  
The doctor chuckled and said, "Don't worry about it,"  
"Doctor, do you mean he isn't in a coma?" Shinji asked, a bit hopeful.  
The doctor shook his head, "Not at all. He's just extremely tired and is pretty much sleeping. Of course, you can wake him up, but that's not prudent because he needs his rest,"  
Everyone seemed to sigh in relief.  
"You're welcome to go home," he said, "There's nothing to see. We'll just keep him here for observation. He should be fully rested by tomorrow morning and afternoon at latest,"  
"Are we staying or going home?" Lime asked.  
"I'm staying," Asuka said.  
"We know," Akane said, "We won't be in your way. We'll all go on back home. We'll be back the first thing tomorrow," She walked over to Ranma and kissed him on his forehead, "Sweet dreams, Ranma,"  
"Yeah, have erotic dreams about me," Linna said, leaning forward to kiss him on the lips, only to have Priss tap her on the shoulder. Linna smiled weakly before she started scratching the back of her head, "Um, I guess we should all get going. He needs his rest,"  
Everyone said their goodbyes before they left Ranma's room. Asuka and Ranma were the only ones left in the room. "You better be all right," Asuka muttered, trying to smile a bit. She walked over to the corner of the room where she grabbed the chair and dragged it to Ranma's bedside. As she stood by him, she noticed how peaceful Ranma was. Her heart started racing as she realized something else. "I-I can k-kiss him if I wanted to,"

Ranma awoke sometime early in the morning. It only took him several moment before he realized where he was. The last thing he remembered was shooting of one of his most powerful ki-blasts and then feeling faint, only to have everything go dark on his as his wings seemed to fail him as he realized he had simply exhausted himself.  
He looked down and saw Asuka by his bedside, her head on the bed, one of her hands in him. She was sound asleep. He smiled warmly. That was nice of her, he thought, to stay here with me. Wanting to let Asuka sleep longer, Ranma slowly slid his hand out of Asuka's grip and slide off the other side of the bed. Figuring she needed the sleep more than him, he walked around the bed to Asuka's side and gently picked her up, her head cradling in the crook of his neck and a shoulder.  
He then gently placed her on the bed when he slid the bed covers over her. Smiling warmly, he walked over to the door and opened it, reverting back to his usual self.  
"Hey, any grub around here to eat? I'm starving?"

Ranma was welcomed by the group of females that any man in this world would envy. Saffron and Herb told Ranma of what had happened to him, about how he had passed out from exhaustion. They explained of how he had expended all his ki and then some, which had simply exhausted him and caused his body to shut down to recooperate.  
To celebrate Ranma's quick recovery, everyone decided to go out and eat a hearty breakfast, which definitely made Ranma happy because that was his favorite meal. At the restaurant, even though they all had to prepare their own meal, what with the entire city being evacuated and all, Ranma said something that seemed to catch everyone off guard, "I think I finally know how an AT field works,"  
"You want us to all attack you?" Lime asked, a bit dubious. He and the others were all gathered around Ranma in the middle of the slums.  
Ranma nodded, "Yes. All of you charge me and attack me. You should not be able to hit me,"  
Taro smirked, "Well let's find out," He charged Ranma and punched him sending him flying bodily through the air, sliding to a halt several meters away from where he had just been.  
"You idiot!" Ranma shouted, hoping to his feet, "I didn't tell you to attack me now! I wasn`t ready!"  
He took a deep breath. He then extended his hand forward. Everyone saw this red barrier-like wall magically appear in front of him, stretching outward in every direction. It was the same wall Herb and Saffron had seen the other day.  
"All right, attack me," Ranma said.  
Taro charged him, his had cocked back. When he was just a foot away from Ranma, he shot his fist forward at Ranma's face, only to have it hit some invisible wall. All that could be seen was this red ripple where Taro's hand had struck.  
"What the?" Taro muttered. He cocked his hand back again and punched at Ranma, only to strike and invisible barrier again, a red ripple forming. Getting frustrated, he reached for the small bottle of water he constantly carried around with him on his waist. He opened it and poured it over his head, changing him into his cursed form.  
The monster cocked its arm back and brought it forward toward Ranma's head with such force that it would have knocked Ranma bodily into orbit, only to have the gigantic fist stop short of hitting Ranma, a red rippling seen once again.  
By now, everyone else have charged and was attempting to break past the impenetrable red barrier, constantly seeing a red rippling yet never having their fists nor feet actually breaking through it and striking Ranma.  
They continued to do for around a minute before they started to tire. By then, Ranma was breathing heavily. It seems he was spending quite a bit of energy manipulating an AT field.  
"I-I'm too tired," Ranma said, realizing that he was spending an enormous of his energy trying to keep that barrier in front of him. "All right, that's enough testing. I'm pooped,"  
Taro, very very impatient and frustrated, didn't hear Ranma speak as he cocked his arm back, intent on breaking through that force field. It wasn't until his fist was flying forward did he realize that Ranma's hands were now at his side, a spent look on his face, just as the fist struck Ranma in the chest, another barrier, a weaker one forming in front of Taro's fist.  
Ranma went flying bodily flying backwards, sliding to a halt several hundred feet away, unconsious, sprawled out on the ground. Everyone ran up to where Ranma was and looked down at him. Ranma seemed to be in the same state of unconsiousness as when Herb and Saffron had carried him home. He looked utterly spent, exhausted beyond extremes. Everyone had this scared look on their face as they said,  
"The girls are going to kill us,"  
"It's all based on emotions somehow," Ranma said. He was in the hospital again, having awoken after a night of restful sleep. It seems that everyone injured above the GeoFront would be taken to the hospital while everyone injured below ground would be taken to NeoNerv's infirmary. "But somehow, generating an AT field like that was exhausting. Basically, being winded and exhausted is what put me in the hospital again,"  
"Do you have any idea how scared we were?" Akane said, sitting by his bedside.  
Ranma looked at Herb and the others and noticed they were covered in bruised, "I'm pretty sure the word you're looking for is `angry'," he chuckled.  
"How come it's taken you this long to discover all your new powers?" Taro asked. Even though he didn't show it, after what he had seen, that impenetrable barrier, Taro had to admit that Ranma had grown extremely strong over the years. But then again, perhaps it was something else. The real Ranma had died and this was an Angel version of him which would explain his ability to fly and the AT field.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Well, I guess it's taken me this long to find out about it is because I've never realized I had these powers. With the wings, that was easy. I simply used the wings of another Angel and used it as my own. But with the AT field, I always thought it was something I guess it was something that had always been there. It had never even crossed my mind to actually attempt to manipulate it like I do ki,"  
Rei was silent as she listened to all of this.  
"There seems to be two kinds of AT fields," Ranma said, "The one that you seem to have surrounding you at all times, and then there's the one you can generate. I think it kinda makes sense. You know how Angels that Misato and the others fought? Well, they used different forms of an AT field. Like that invertered on that Ritsuko said had created...a Sea of Duraic if I remember correctly,"  
"What a minute," Ritsuko said, realizing something, "If that's true, then doesn't that mean you can create something like that, Ranma?"  
"Um, how do ya supposed I do that?" Ranma asked, "I barely even know how I managed to get that other one up let alone invert one, whatever the hell that means,"  
"Well, you shouldn't constantly push yourself," Kiema comment.  
Ranma smirked.  
Kiema blushed but quickly said, "You would be useless to us if you're in a coma when an Angel attacks,"

"The pattern is blue!" Linna said, "We've got ourselves another Angel," It was early in the day. She felt a bit upset cause she kind of wanted to goto the beach to get a nice tan.  
"What number Angel is this? The third, right?" Kiema asked, looking up at the screen. By now, cameras had been installed throughout the city allowing everyone in the control room to get a good view of the action above them. It had taken close to a week, but it proved very uselful. "There seems to be some kind of pattern, the Angel seems to attack every two weeks or so,"  
"No, it's the fifth Angel," Ritsuko said, "The real Ranma and the Angel version of Ranma are the first and second Angel. We defeated the third and forth Angel and this one's the fifth. And as to this pattern you notice, we have no real idea if it is a pattern at all. It could be a coincidence,"  
Nene punched in a few buttons. The veiw screen changed to a satellite view of the city. She smirked, "Man, I can't believe we actually have our own satellite,"  
"Actually, don't you mean we stole a satellite and made it our own?" Rei asked softly.  
Priss chuckled as she swiveled around in her chair and faced Rei and said, "Hey, that may be true. But none of us are complaining. I'm pretty sure the military don't mind at all. I mean, if they do mind, they would have done something about it by now,"  
"Perhaps they are," Rei said, "Perhaps they are seeing what we are seeing,"  
Nene shrugged her shoulders, "Well, even if they do, they can't really make heads of tails of what they are seeing,"  
"True," Ritsuko said, "Aside from us, no one has an idea what these Angels are or where they come from. And we should keep it that way. It's not like the army can do anything about them anyway,"  
"And speaking of the army..." Misato muttered, looking at the screen.  
"Hey look, it seems the army finally got off their asses and decided to make an attempt again at taking MegaTokyo back," Ranma said with a chuckle. He and the other adult males were standing on top of their usual building.  
"That's not good," Herb commented, "We have an Angel on the way. It's going to be like fighting two fronts,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Well, what can we do about it? It's not like the government really listens anyway. They don't seem to learn their lessons. Oh well, let `em learn the hard way,"  
Saffron smirked, "Yes, that seems to be how you learn when dealing with members of the opposite sex,"  
"Enough chit chatting, boys," they all heard Misato's voice through their individual communicator, "You can male bond later. Right now we have big trouble,"  
"Oh?" they all seemed to mutter.  
"Coming in front the east, we have the Japanese Army. From the north, the Angel," she said, "You're going to be fighting two fronts,"  
"We know," Taro said, "We see the tanks making their way past the suspension bridge and toward MegaTokyo. We are well aware the we're going to be fighting two fronts,"  
"Not if you take your time," came Misato's voice, "It seems that the Navy is in with the operations also. They will be arriving here shortly. You're going to have to push back the army and destroy the Angel before the Navy gets here. Otherwise, you're all going to get overwhelmed. You people may be powerful, but fighting three fronts will probably be too much for you,"  
"Hey, don't forget I can generate an AT field," Ranma said with an arrogant grin, "Let `em send all that they want. They can't get past what's impenetrable,"  
"True," they now heard Ritsuko's voice, "But you can only hold an AT field up for a very short while before you exhaust yourself. Unless you learn how to hold it up for a prolonged period of time, it's useless right now,"  
Ranma nodded reluctantly, "I hate to admit it, but you're right. Well, just give me some time. I'll get the hang of this AT field thing sooner or later. I notice that the Angels seem to attack every two weeks. Two weeks should be plenty of times to test it out,"  
"That's all a coincidence, Ranma," Ritsuko said, "Don't assume anything. Although most of your assumptions have been correct and almost exact, don't get cocky about it,"  
Ranma chuckled, "Me? Cocky? No way. I'm the most modest person in the world. If anyone says otherwise, they're wrong,"  
Ritsuko laughed a bit and said, "I know you're saying that sarcastically, Ranma. And the funny thing is, you're probably the only person that can actually sound arrogant about being modest,"  
Everyone seemed to laugh.  
"Enough chit chat," Misato's voice came back on, "Now, I want you to do this. Taro, Lime, Mint, you three take care of the incoming tanks and vehicles. Saffron, Ranma, you two go after the Angel. Herb, you stay where you are and provide back up in case anyone is having trouble,"  
"Since when did you become our leader, Misato?" Herb said with a smirk.  
"She hasn't because I'm the leader," Ranma said arrogantly.  
"Quit your damn testesterone pissing contest and do it! We'll talk about this later!" Misato said, getting angry and very annoyed. They acted like children at times.  
"Yes, ma'am," they all said. Taro gave Mint and Lime a cold look and said, "I'll meet the two of you by the suspension bridge. I'm gonna knock down that damn bridge so the tanks can't get through," He splashed himself with the small flask of water he kept handy and lept of the building, flying eastwardly.  
Lime and Mint shrugged their shoulders and hopped off the building, also proceeding toward the bridge.  
"C'mon, Ranma, let's destroy this Angel," Saffron smirked, his wings spreading as he darted off toward the north, in the direction of the incoming Angel. Ranma quickly followed suit, following closely behind.  
Herb hovered high into the air, waiting patiently.  
"Good luck,"

"What the hell's with these Angels? Why the hell do they constantly look like me?" Ranma muttered, "The third Angel looked like me except for the communicator! The fourth Angel looked like me except it had no wings! Now this goddamn Angel looks just like me, wings and communicator! The only difference is that it has this weird green aura around it while mine is either red or blue or yellow," He was hovering high in the air. The top of a mountain could be seen far below him and Saffron's feet.  
"The Angels are getting smarter," came Misato's voice, "With every attack, they become more and more like you! Sooner or later, we won't be able to tell you apart! Saffron, whatever you do, don't mistaken the two of them. The last time you did that, look how close it got to NeoNerv?"  
"All right, I hear you," Saffron snapped, "Sheesh, women,"  
"What did you say?" came Kiema's voice.  
Saffron said, "Um, quit bothering me! I'm in the middle of a battle here!" He hoped that was a good enough reason to change the subject. He was just glad there were no cameras this far out from MegaTokyo that Kiema wouldn't be able to see that they hadn't engaged in battle just yet but were rather assessing each other.  
Ranma let his aura flare a bright blue, "All right. You should have no problem distinguishing between the two of us," he chuckled. He extended a hand toward the Angel, shooting a massive ki-blast in its direction. What the Angel did shocked both Ranma and Saffron. It simply swatted Ranma's ki-blast away with an arm like it was nothing. The ki-blast struck the mountain below them, destroying a small portion of the top.  
Saffron shot out a fireball, letting it hover in the front of him for a moment before it rocketed toward the Angel, only to have the Angel skillfully dodge it, the fireball arcing upward into the sky where it disappeared beyond the clouds.  
Ranma held both hands out in front of him, shooting multiple tiny ki-  
blasts at the Angel, the blasts alternating between extended hands. Once again, Ranma and Saffron were shocked to see the Angel dodge and swat the ki-blasts out of the way.  
"W-what the hell's g-going on?" Ranma muttered, "What's going out out there?" came Misato's voice, "What's your status?"  
"T-the Angel! It's swatting my ki-blasts outta the way!" Ranma stammered, "How can that be? As soon as the ki-blasts hits it, even its arm as it hits it away, it should bestroy its AT field!" "We see an AT field," Saffron added, "But it isn't shattering like the other ones!"  
Ranma turned toward Saffron, visbily nervous, "I don't like the looks of this,"  
In the control room, Misato said into the microphone, "Herb, Ranma and Saffron are in trouble. Go see if you can help them out!"  
"All right," Herb said. He faced north and shot through the air and in that direction. After racing through the air at near supersonic speeds, he finally reached the battle. Saffron and Ranma were continuing to barrage the Angel with their projectiles, only to have the Angel dodge or swat the projectiles away. It took him a moment before Herb realized which Angel was the real Angel. He remembered Ranma's aura.  
Realizing that the Angel was distracted with Saffron and Ranma, Herb shot a massive ki-blast as the Angel's back. The blast erupted with a massive explosion, consuming the Angel.  
"All right! Direct Hit!" Ranma shouted happily, raising a hand into the air in triumph.  
When the blast subside, Ranma said, "Um, I-I take t-that back,"  
The Angel smirked. There was a red barrier surrounding the Angel. The AT field remained intact, even after being struck with a direct hit with a ki-blast. Herb was in a state of shock that he didn't realize that the Angel had shot an energy blast toward him until the very last second.  
Right before the blast struck him, Herb crossed both hand over his front. He was consumed in the explosion. When it subsided, Herb was visibly hurt but was still able to hover. There were trickles of blood running down the side of his forehead.  
"W-what the h-hell's going on?" Herb said weakly, breathing heavily.  
"Misato, we're in deep shit!" Ranma shouted, "Get Taro and Mint and Lime down here! We need all the help we can get! The Angel took a direct hit with a ki-blast and its AT field is still there!"  
In the control room, everyone quickly relayed Ranma's message.  
"Taro, Lime, Mint," Misato said into the microphone, "Forget about the army. Ranma, Herb, and Saffron at in trouble! The three of you, get the hell over there and help them out!"  
"Don't worry about the army, Misato," came Mint's voice, "We've taken care of them. We're on our way. Tell them to wait a few minutes. Taro is carrying me and Lime,"  
"Get there on the double!" she said, "Cause it doesn't look good out there!"  
Taro and the other two arrived at the scene in a few minutes. When they arrived, they saw they immediately recognized the Angel, which looked slightly injured, and noticed it was shooting energy blasts at Saffron while simultaneously dodging Ranma and Herb's ki-blasts!"  
"Taro! Lime! Mint! You have to fight that Angel in hand to hand combat! That's the only thing that affects it! It has some kinda ki based AT field!" Ranma shouted to them. He had managed to accidentally landed a punch to the Angel's face and had realized that no AT field had formed. He was now shooting ki-blasts at it, hoping to distract it so it would go after Saffron exclusively.  
Taro smirked a bit and nodded in acknowledgement. He hovered toward the Angel, close enough for Lime and Mint to jump off his back and grab onto the Angel as it hovered in the air. As if suicidal, the two of them did just that. Them jumped off Taro's massive back and onto the Angel, Mint wrapping his arms around the Angel's neck, seemingly chocking it while Lime had his legs wrapped around the Angel's waist as he proceeded to punch the Angel in the face repeatedly.  
They continued to do this for several moment, seriously injuring the Angel before the Angel finally managed to shake Mint off its back and then sending and energy blast right into Lime's chest, sending the two of its assaliants falling down toward the ground below.  
Ranma and Saffron, realizing that Lime and Mint couldn't fly, swooped down to catch them. Herb continued to hover in the air, still visibly hurt, almost unable to continue on, having been struck with countless energy blasts already.  
The Angel turned toward Herb to finish him off only to see a flying minotaur-like monster hovering in front of it, an arm cocked way back.  
Taro punched the Angel with everything he's got, literally caving the Angel's face in. As the Angel twitched a few times before its wings failed it and started to fall toward the ground, Taro grabbed it by the face and dove toward the ground with it, slamming it into the ground with such force that the top portion of the mountain caved in under it, making it look more like a volcano, the middle section hollow.  
Taro stood up and looked at the Angel as it lay unmoving in the crater. His heart was beating rapidly, the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he never realized the power something like this could possess.  
"Three down, many more to go," he said.  
Ranma and the others landed next to him.  
"Don't forget we have a navy left to destroy," Ranma said.

"This is crazy," Ritsuko found herself commenting, "How in the world are we going to defeat them? Their weaknesses constantly change and they're getting smarter!" She and mostly everyone were in the debriefing room. Lime was in the infirmary, resting due to several broken ribs. Herb was also in there, suffering from a concussion. Ranma said, "I have no idea. These damn Angels don't have a core that ya go after. We've already defeated three Angels and they were all so goddamn hard. I would much rather fight the navy like we did before that those damn Angels. Man, if they get stronger and smarter with every attack, I don't wanna even think about what the final Angel's gonna be like..."  
Everyone seemed to shudder a bit but then glared at Ranma. Why did he have to go and say that? They knew that but they didn't want to be reminded.  
"You can't be so pessimistic," Linna said, trying to smile a bit, "Remember, as the Angel's get stronger, so do all of you. The same things goes for getting smarter. We already know that there are two kinds of attacks that can defeat an Angel, physical and ki-based. If we ever fight an Angel like that again, it'll be a piece of cake,"  
Ranma smirked a bit, "Linna, it's easier said than done. Their energy blasts are so goddamn powerful. They hurt when those things hit you. Remember that. We're not immortal or anything. Look at Lime and Herb, they got hurt during the battle and are in the infirmary, and they are two of the toughest people I know,"  
"I kinda wish Ryoga was here," Nene commented, "We could sure use his help,"  
"Damn, if Ryoga were here, he'd be headbutting those Angels right through their AT fields...but he isn't here. Where the hell is that goddamn fool anyway?" Ranma said, annoyed, "Here we are, fighting Angel, preventing the destruction of this world and he's lost on some goddamn world. There better be a good reason why he ain't here. Otherwise, I'm gonna use the nanban mirror to drag his ass from where ever he is back to this world so he could help us out..."  
"Why don't you?" Asuka asked, "As you can tell we need all the help we can get,"  
"Because if Ryoga's not here, there must be a damn good reason why not," Ranma said, "Besides, what will happen if I die on that world, whatever world that is? Then you'll be stuck fighting without me..."  
Everyone was silent.  
"So, what do we do now?" Sylia asked, "We have the remains of the Angel,"  
"Lisa and I are going to study it," Ritsuko said, motioning toward Lisa, "Perhaps that way, we can find out what makes it tick and perhaps develop some kind of weapon that would destroy it. We can't rely on ki-  
blast and fireballs and conventional attacks every time. Since the Angels get smarter, sooner or later, we're going to have to fight on a whole new level, using types of attacks we've never even dreamed about,"  
Ranma stood up, "Well, until then, we're stuck using what we know. I'm gonna try and perfect this AT field mystery. Perhaps it could help out greatly in our battle when the next Angel attacks. In any ways, we've all gotta prepare. We've still go plenty of more Angel's left to fight,"  
Everyone stood up went about their business of preparing for the next attack.  
"I'm pooped, Eva," Ranma said. He was in the infirmary, suffering from exhaustion. He wanted to show everyone how far he had come with his ability to manipulate his innate AT field so he had did it in GeoFront. At this rate, he would never be able to hold that AT field of his up for prolonged periods of time. He could hold it up for no longer than a minute.  
"That is because you tire yourself out all the time," Eva replied. It was only Ranma and Eva this time. Everyone else knew Ranma would be all right. They accepted the fact that Ranma would push himself to exhaustion everytime.  
Ranma yawned, "I know I tire myself out all the time, but what can I do. We're going to be in trouble sooner or later. It's best to be prepared,"  
"Still, your beautiful body can take so much punishment," Eva said, sounding a bit sad.  
The door opened and in entered Rei. She walked over to Ranma's bedside and gazed at him. He gestured toward the chair, "Please have a seat,"  
Rei looked at the seat, then at Ranma, and then back at the seat before she sat down in it. She continued to gaze at Ranma.  
"Is something wrong?" Ranma asked, sitting upright.  
"Why do you continue to push yourself?" she asked softly.  
"Because I have to," Ranma said, "We're in deep trouble if we don't prepare,"  
Rei was silent. Ranma got up out of bed. He was still clad in his hospital gown. "I better go practice some more," he said weakly. He took a step toward the door be realized he was in a state of extreme disorientation. He fell forward, unable to keep afoot, but never hit the ground because Rei quickly rushed out of her seat. When Rei tried to catch him, she ended up falling backward, Ranma falling down on top of her. He gazed into Rei's eyes and said, "I-I'm sorry," He slowly got back up toward his feet, "Heh, if anyone came in, they'd get the wrong idea," Back on his feet, he made his way back to the bed and simply flopped down on top of it, "God, I'm pooped,"  
He closed his eyes and went to sleep.  
After a few minutes, Rei got to her feet, and gazed at Ranma, this shade of red in her cheeks, her heart racing. She then turned around and left the room.  
Ranma's stomach grumbled. He and Rei were both on their way up from GeoFront to the surface. It seems that Rei, having nothing to do, had waited for Ranma to recover. When he did, he seemed very much like his usual self.  
"What time is it?" he asked.  
"Eight fifteen in the evening,"  
"Ya hungry?" he asked.  
"A little bit," she replied softly. They were both standing in one of the decomissioned elevators that had been put out of service when Genom had been exposed. It took a short while for the elevator to bring them up to the service. It was either that or walk a mile out of the way and exit out of GeoFront by the slums since there was a tunnel that lead right up to there.  
Rei's stomach grumbled more loud that Ranma. Ranma turned toward Rei and grinned. "A little bit hungry?" he asked.  
Rei smiled just a little bit. Perhaps she was more hungry than she thought.  
"Well, that does it," Ranma said, "We're going out to eat. I know of a nice restaurant on the way back home that you would like. Of course, since the city's been evacuated, we'll hafta make our own food,"  
"I've never really cooked before," she commented softly. "I'm a poor cook,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "So what? I'm a great cook. My great cooking will probably cancel your bad cooking and even the meal out in the middle with a decent meal,"  
Rei looked up at Ranma and smiled a bit more.  
"Hey, I have a question," Ranma said after a moment, "Do ya eat dislike meat because you like animals?"  
"I don't really know," she replied softly, "All I do know is that I dislike meat,"  
"Hm, perhaps ya eat vegetables not because you like animals, but because you dislike plants," he chuckled.  
Rei giggled a bit.  
Ranma was looking up at the stars. It was nearing midnight. It had been several hours since he and Rei had ate dinner together. He was on the porch, lying on his back, gazing upwards. Saffron, unable to sleep, came down the stairs and noticed Ranma.  
"You can't sleep?" Saffron asked.  
"Actually, I don't wanna sleep," he replied, "It's a nice night out,"  
"I can't seem to sleep," Saffron said, "Ever since that last battle and at how strong a Angel could become, I've found myself losing sleep,"  
"Well, we've got twelve more Angels to go," Ranma smirked a bit, "And they get stronger from here on,"  
Saffron said nothing. "If things get worse, I think I'm going to go get Unit-01," Ranma said, "I know it goes against everything I believe, but at this rate, we're going to have no choice,"  
"Is this Unit-01 powerful?" Saffron asked. He had only heard about Unit-01's capabilities through Ranma's tales but had no real idea exactly how powerful it was, "How powerful is it compared to the Angels we've fought?"  
Ranma smirked a bit, "Unit-01...it's plenty powerful. The people on the other world consider Unit-01 a walking god. From what I've been told, that Unit-01, which is different from the Unit-01 that Shinji pilots, is incomparable when it comes to power,"  
"In what sense?"  
"Just picture an Angel that combined with an Angel," Ranma said, "and add a bit of human DNA that was from my human self at his peak to it, an AT field that it can hold up very much like my own except for an unlimited amount of time, and you have Unit-01,"  
Saffron looked at Ranma oddly.  
"What? Do I have something on my face?" Ranma asked.  
"Why do you can the other Ranma your `human' self all of a sudden? You used to call Ranma your `real self',"

It was around two in the morning when Ranma decided to take a nice soak in the bath. Saffron had gotten out about an hour an a half ago. He was now deep in thought.  
"Why did I say `human' self instead of `other' or even `real' self?" he asked himself, leaning back against the wall, looking out the window, "And why the hell do all those Angels look like me? Why? Do I play some kinda role in this so-called test? There's gotta be a reason behind it,"  
He shifted and continued to think aloud, "Could it have something to do with what Eva said to me a while back? That I'm pure Angel? Could they be striding to become like me, always falling short?" He chuckled, "There I go again. My imagination is constantly running wild. Perhaps it just a coincidence. Perhaps I'm being paranoid,"  
He got out of the bathtub and wrapped a towel around his waist and proceeded toward the door.  
Just then, the door opened to reveal Asuka. She had a towel wrapped around her chest, which didn't help much to conceal her long slender legs.  
Ranma smirked as he assessed Asuka as she blushed beet red after having realized she had just walked in on Ranma.  
"Nice legs," he commented before walking past her and into the changing room.  
"I-I d-din't know you were in the bathtub," she stammered, her heart racing. She really didn't. It was just that she couldn't sleep and figured a nice soak in the bathtub would help her relax more and perhaps help her goto sleep after she got out. Now she knew she was going to have trouble sleeping. "I'm serious, I didn't know you were in there,"  
"Yeah right," Ranma smirked.

Early morning, once again, Ranma was attempting to master his ability to use his AT field. Once again, Ranma managed to hold the impenetrable AT field up in front of him for a minute as everyone continued to attack him before becoming too tired. This time around, they managed to restrain themselves from actually hitting Ranma and knocking him out after he got too tired to hold it up anymore. It seems that the girls getting angry at them was a good enough reason to realize that knocking Ranma out was not good for their health.  
Ranma was breathing heavily, a knee on the ground. "Damn, I can't seem to hold it up anymore that a minute before I start getting tired and dizzy," he said.  
"Can you think of any reasons why not?" Lime asked.  
"No," Ranma said, annoyed, "If I did know, I wouldn't be having this problem, now would I?" He sighed, "The AT field is emotional based. There's gotta be some kinda emotion I gotta feel that would help prolong the field's effect. I have no real idea what I'm doing wrong."  
"You mind could be clogged with unwanted thoughts," Herb said, "Just like controlling ki, you have to keep your mind clear,"  
"I know that," Ranma said, "That's what I've been doing. I've been trying to go through the whole spectrum of emotions. I already tried anger, happiness, depression, and frustration. I'm running outta emotions here,"  
"What about love?" Mint asked.  
Ranma looked at Mint and shrugged his shoulders and said, "That may work," "Damn, perhaps it may not work!" Ranma said the next day, already breathing heavily.  
"Perhaps it because you don't know what love is," Herb said.  
"Do you?" Ranma asked with a smirk. He looked at everyone, "Heck, do any of us?"  
Everyone was silent. That was the one thing none of them knew that much about, having spent virtually all their life on training, not one learning what love was. Ranma was the only that seemed to know the most about love, but it was a far cry from being at all adept at loving.  
"Well, you know what that means, right?" Taro said, smirking a bit.  
"What's that?" Ranma asked.  
"You learn how to love," he replied, "Understand the female species and learn to love,"  
"I'm gonna practice some more emotions tomorrow. There's gotta be an easier way,"

Rei heard the phone ring. It startled her. It was sometime in the afternoon and she was home alone, Akane having gone out shopping, which was more like stealing because there were no one around in the supermarkets. Shinji and Asuka were in the dojo, actually sparring against one another. It seems ever since Shinji had helped defeat that Angel with his barehands, he had become determined to beat Asuka in a sparring match. It was all a matter of time. The rest of the group was out training or at NeoNerv, examining the remains of that Angel Taro had killed.  
She looked at the phone as it continued to ring. She had never answered a phone before. She had no idea who was on the other line. Her heart was beating rapidly for some reason. She was about to turn around to head out for the dojo to get Shinji or Asuka but remembered on several occasion that someone picked up the phone too late.  
She reluctantly picked up the phone and imitated Akane who usually answered the phone. "Hello?" she said in a very soft voice. She didn't want to do this.  
"Hello? Rei, is that you?" came Ranma's voice.  
"Yes," she said, recognizing Ranma's voice. It seemed to relieve her for some reason.  
"Cool, you're just the person I wanted to speak to," he said in a warm voice, a warmth that Rei definitely noticed, "I have a favor to ask of you,"  
Rei said nothing, waiting Ranma to continue.  
"Rei, ya there?"  
"I was merely waiting for you to continue," she said softly, smiling slightly.  
Ranma cleared his throat, "Oh, okay. Well, anyway, I have a favor to ask. Right now, we're all at the slums practicing. I'm trying out this AT field and I could sure use your help,"  
"M-my help?" Rei asked, a bit surprised.  
"What, you're busy? Are you doing something?"  
"No, I'm not busy," she said, "I was doing nothing,"  
"Well, since you're not busy, anyway you can give me some help out out here? I would really appreciate it," Ranma said, "Would you mind? It'll only take a short while. After that, we can go out and get something to eat if you're hungry,"  
Rei smiled a bit, "I don't mind,"  
"Cool, I'll be there to pick you up in front of the house in ten minutes," Ranma said in a happy voice, "Ja ne,"  
"Goodbye," she said as she hung up the phone.  
She smiled. She was glad she picked up the phone.  
Ranma hovered down behind Rei as she waited in front of the house like Ranma had asked. He smirked as he realized Rei hadn't noticed him. She was just staring in front of her, at the outerwall of the other house.  
Grinning, Ranma took a step toward her back and picked her up in his arms, "Gotcha!"  
Rei let out a shriek of surprise as she found herself being lifted up off the ground as she reached her arms out and grabbed the nearest thing to her, which happened to be Ranma. It took her a second before she realized she was up in his arms.  
"R-Ranma," she said softly, blushing a bit, as Ranma placed her back down on the ground, "You surprised me,"  
Ranma smiled warmly and said, "Relax, Rei. I'm just having some fun. Well, are you ready to go?"  
"If I am not ready to go, then I will not be out here," she replied softly.  
Ranma chuckled, "Hey, Rei, that was funny. You made a joke,"  
"I-I did?"  
Ranma reached both hands toward his back and removed his wings. He handed the to Rei, "Rei, ya interested in learning how to fly? Since we're both Angels, we should both be able to use these wings. You can fly, I'll walk along side you...trying to peep up that dress of yours," He chuckled.  
Rei blushed a bit as she looked at the wings. She then handed them back and said, "No thank you,"  
Ranma looked a bit disappointed. He shrugged his shoulders and placed the wings back on. He said, "Well, I figured you'd might wanna give it a try. It's pretty fun. But since you don't feel like it, I won't force you to do something you don't want. Well, Rei, ya ready to get going?"  
Rei nodded.  
"You wanna walk or should I fly you?" he asked.  
"It doesn't matter to me," she said. She smiled slightly and said, "You choose,"  
Ranma grinned and said, "All right, we fly. It's fun," Rei yelped out in surprise as Ranma sweeped her up off her feet and into his feet. He lepted up into the air, bringing Rei up with him as she was held snugly against his body, her arms around his neck, fingers interlocked agains the back of his neck.  
Rei looked down toward the ground as it raced past her as blinding speeds. They were currently heading toward the slums, weaving through the city streets instead of through over the city. Once they were beyond the city, they had to cross over the body of water that seperated the slums from the rest of MegaTokyo since the slums were nothing more than an artificial island Genom had created for boomer testing. It was the same place where Ranma and the Knight Sabers had first fought.  
Instead of crossing by the bridge, Ranma skimmed along water, just a mere foot from the surface of the pond, jetting along at a high speed.  
"Reach out and touch it if you'd like," Ranma said to Rei, knowing that she curious, as he lowered his altitude even more.  
She gingerly reached a hand out and touched the calm water as it raced past her. Because Ranma was flying through the air at such a high speed, when she stuck her finger into the water, the wake it created splashed high into the air on either side of her and Ranma.  
At the sight of the water rising high into the air, Rei smiled happily.  
"Cool, ne?" Ranma said, smiling warmly. Rei smiled back at Ranma. Because of Ranma, she was experiencing things she had never experienced before. "Thank you,"

Rei and Ranma landed in the slums where everyone else were in amidst of sparring one another, everyone for themselves.  
"So that's basically how it goes," Ranma said, finishing off his sentence, "I need your help understanding this AT field thing. I would have asked you sooner, but I figure I could get it all on my own, so I woulnd't hafta bother you, but it seems like I'm getting nowhere in solving this problem,"  
"I don't really know if I can help," Rei said softly, but I will try.  
Ranma smiled, "Thank you,"  
Rei blushed.

"Damn, I'm getting tried!" Taro said as he continued to push at the barrier, trying to break through and actually touch Ranma. The impentrable barrier had been up for more than five minutes and Ranma didn't seem one bit tired. He looked rather relaxed. But then again, he had help. Rei was standing behin him, her hand pressed on Ranma's shoulder.  
Everyone's objective was to physically touch Ranma, which they found rather impossible. They didn't want to risk hurting Rei in case Ranma became exhausted and the barrier failed. Somehow, Rei and Ranma's AT field were combined to form an indefinite and impenetrable AT field. It seems Ranma's assuption was once again correct.  
"Okay, that's enough," Ranma said, "That's enough,"

"So are you going to explain this AT field theory of yours or not?" Ritsuko asked, very very interested. Everyone was gathered around NeoNerv in the debriefing room, which was on huge room with a table in the middle. Although she had found some rather amazing discoveries about the recent Angel they had defeated, Ranma's story seemed far more interesting.  
"This is still very sketchy," Ranma said, "But basically this is how it works. Rei has an AT field very similar to mine. Mine seems to be on a physical sense where I am protected from physical attacks while Rei's is on a mental protecting her from mental attacks and keep her from getting upset and such. Anyway, I realized that she must have some mental AT field because I rarely see her laughing or cracking a smile," "That's true," Misato said, smirking a bit at Rei, "But I have noticed you've actually cracked a smile every here and there, and you even laughed, too,"  
Rei said nothing, showed no emotions toward Misato's teasing.  
Ranma continued on and said, "I had this funny feeling that Rei's AT field is for prolonged periods of time. That's why you don't crack a smile at that much. Well, because of this, I figured that we can somehow combine our AT fields. Dontcha get it? Rei's AT field is weak, but it lasts a long long time. Mine is strong but lasts a very short while. I simply figured that combining both of our AT fields would generate a strong one that would last a long time,"  
"Couldn't it have gone the other way around?" Sylia asked, curious, "It could have created a weak AT field that lasts for a short time,"  
Ranma gave Sylia and odd look, "Well, it didn't. Let's just be happy it didn't cause then we'll be really screwed,"  
"What will that mean, then?" Misato asked, "From the way I see it, that will mean you and Rei will be going into battle together,"  
"Are you kiddin' me? I don't think so!" Ranma said, "I ain't gonna risk Rei getting hurt," He guestured toward Taro, Herb, Mint, Lime, and Saffron, "With those guys over there, I don't really care if they get hurt or not,"  
They all glared at Ranma.  
Ranma ignored them and continued on, "Anyway, I just wanted her to prove a theory I had. And now that we proved it, that means it isn't impossible to generate an impenetrable AT field for a prolonged periods of time,"  
"So what are you going to do?" Asuka asked.  
Ranma smiled, "Well, Rei offered to help me out from here on, and eventually, I'll understand it completely. Right now, it's pretty much a complete mystery. Sooner or later, it won't." Everyone was silent.  
Ranma chuckled, "Talk about havin' a lot on my shoulders, ne? I hafta solve this AT field mystery or our world could be destroyed because those Angels are getting smarter and stronger with every attack,"  
No one seemed to be laughing.  
Wanting to change the subject, Ranma said, "I'll tell you more about how the AT field goes in a little bit. Now, Ritsuko, you said you and Lisa found a discovery from those Angel remains we brought in. What kinda discovery?"  
Ritsuko took a deep breath and said, "After analyzing the data collected from that fifth Angel, we managed to confirm bad news,"  
"What that?" Kiema asked first.  
"That our assuptions were correct," she replied, "That the Angel have no core, at least this one doesn't. That means no Angel will havea common weakness,"  
Everyone was silent. That was not good.

"Rei, I think I know why I can make you smile much easier than anyone else?" He and Rei were on their way toward the decomissioned elevator that lead them up to the surface from GeoFront. The adult males had gone on ahead, everyone else staying behind in NeoNerv to monitor everything, and the army, which was in the process of remobilizing again.  
"You do?" she asked, curious. She had been wondering that also.  
"It's because our AT fields can have an opposite effect. They can neutralize one another," he said, "I didn't want to mention that to anyone. It seems that that's why you smile and even laugh, because your mental AT field is being neutralized my my physical one. Pretty freaky, ne?"  
Rei was silent. She then said, "If that is true, then why did that AT field last so long?"  
"Hm," Ranma thought for a moment, "Perhaps we have more control over our AT fields than we realize. Perhaps we are willing it not to neutralize one another but rather compliment one another. After all, in order to project that AT field before, we were both in deep concentration. Perhaps through concentrating, we managed to will and manipulate the our respective AT fields to form one powerful one rather than cancel each other out,"  
"And because we don't concentrate on it all the time, it could explain our AT fields neutralizing one another," Rei said softly, "Because AT fields are meant to neutralize another one,"  
Ranma chuckled, "It would explain why I got so hurt back there at that bathhouse. Remember? When I was dancing on that fence?"  
Rei giggled a bit at the thought of that. She then realized something. She found it easier and easier to laugh around Ranma.  
"You may be right. They are neutralizing each other,"  
Ranma was chuckled a bit and said, "Well, all we hafta do is concentrate and we won't hafta worry about it,"  
Rei looked up at Ranma.  
"I don't mind...I don't mind laughing. I like it," she said softly, looking ahead.  
Ranma looked at Rei and smiled, "And I like hearing you laugh. It's natural,"  
"We have a blue pattern!" Linna said. It had been a few hours since Ranma had Rei help him out in the slums.  
"Do you still think there is no pattern?" Kiema commented, "It's been, once again, exactly two weeks since the last Angel attacked. They seem to attack at around the same time, noon time,"  
Misato looked at Kiema and said, "Just because there is indeed a very obvious pattern, that the Angel attack in two week intervals, it doesn't mean that it is indeed a pattern. It could be purely coincidence. I know it highly unprobably that it would be a coincidence, but we have to assume it is to keep on our toes," Misato said.  
"Waitaminute!" Linna said, shocked, "The MAGI is picking up two blue patterns!"  
"Yes, the other one is Ranma's," Ritsuko said.  
"All right, then make that three if you include Ranma's," Linna said, "There's the blue pattern near the center of MegaTokyo, which is Ranma. And the other two are coming in from the north and south."  
Priss looked up at the screen, "Is that possible? I thought this was supposed to be test where one Angel would attack at a time. That's what Misato and the others said about back on their world. Are the Angels teaming up?"  
"God, they're getting real smart," Misato said, dread in her voice, "It's only the forth Angel attack we're expected to repel and they realize its best to come in numbers, that they can overwhelm us,"  
"So what the hell are you saying?" Nene said, "That those are the sixth and seventh Angel? How the hell are Ranma and the others going to defeat them? They have enough trouble with one Angel, let alone two!"  
Misato took a deep breath, trying to keep in control. Inside, she was in a state of panic. She leaned forward and said into the microphone, "Guys, we've got a pattern blue,"  
"Figures," came Ranma's voice, "I notice they seem to come in two week intervals,"  
"Forget about that, it's just a coincidence," Misato said, "We've got two pattern blues, one coming in from the north and another coming in from the south, both approaching MegaTokyo at high speeds. Yes, two Angels, both on an intercept course. The group's going have to split up. Saffron Herb, you two head south. Ranma, Mint, Lime, Taro, you four head north,"  
"All right," Ranma said, "You heard the lady,"  
He grinned and then turned around and darted northward, his wings carrying him through the air at blinding speeds. Taro quickly changed into his monster and reluctantly let Mint and Lime hop onto his massive back as he, too, raced toward the north, following closely behind Ranma.  
Saffron and Herb looked at each other.  
"To think, we constantly battle one another and must fight together for a greater cause," Herb smirked.  
"Yes, quite ironic," Saffron smirked back.  
Herb shrugged his shoulder and darted southward, Saffron by his side.

Ranma, Taro, Mint, and Lime intercepted the incoming Angel in no time. They were near the destroyed outskirts of the city, the part of the city that the army had destroyed while fighting against Ranma and the others.  
They immediately realized that the Angel looked exactly like Ranma, aura and all. It would impossilbe to distinguigh the two of them physically if anyone were to get them mixed up.  
"Damn, this is startin' to freak me out," Ranma commtned, hovering in the air, "It's like looking at a twin," He smirked at the Angel, "Hey, how about you be a nice Angel and give yourself up?"  
The Angel seemed to chuckle before its face grew serious, "You should give yourself up,"  
"All right, enough with the taunting, this is jus' gonna drag on and on," Ranma said with a grin, "Let's just kill each other," Without saying another word, he shot a ki-blast at the hovering Angel. He and the others were shocked when the Angel remined hovering in the air as ki-blast passed right through it. The ki-blast continued to travel forward until it hit a mountain in a far off distance. The Angel had a nasty smirk on its face.  
"You're fighting the inevitable, Tabris" the Angel sneered at Ranma.  
Back at the control room, Misato turned toward Ritsuko, "Did you hear that?"  
Ritsuko was very silent, but she managed to nod. She didn't like the sound of that.  
Ranma shot another ki-blast at the Angel, only to have the blast simply shoot right through the Angel.  
"You can't defeat what you can't touch," the Angel commented. A second later, Taro's entire body could be seen passing through the Angel as Taro attempted to fly right into the Angel and shoulder ram it. Mint and Lime had both attempted to punch the Angel just as Taro was about to hit the Angel, the three of them attempting a simultaneous triple attack, their fists as well as their bodies going right through the Angel.  
"What the hell?" Mint said, "My fist just went right though it. It's like its a hologram,"  
Ranma eyes widened, "That's pretty much what it is! Shit! This isn't the real Angel! Saffron and Herb are the ones fighting it!"  
The Angel smirked, "Very good, Tabris," A second later, it disappeared.  
"Misato!" Herb's voice entered the control room, "We need help, and fast! Saffron and I are taking extreme damage here and we don't know how much longer we can hold out! This Angel's far stronger than any of the Angels we've seen! We can't get past its AT field and we're throwing everything we've got at it but nothing seems to get through!"  
Misato leaned forward and said into the microphone, "Ranma, Taro, Lime, Mint...Herb and Saffron need your help! We'll worry about that Angel later!"  
"We're already on our way!" came Ranma's voice, "The Angel we fought was fake! It was all an elaborate trap to separate us!"  
"Those Angels are getting very very smart," Lisa commented, "They're already using strategy and tactics in their attacks and this one seems to be taking a divide and conquer approach,"  
All of a sudden, the console in front of Priss exploded, sending Priss diving for cover, "What the hell?" she muttered, getting back up to her feet as Shinji quickly got the fire extinquisher and put the flames out.  
"Are you okay?" Sylia asked Priss, "What happened?"  
"I-I don't know," she replied numbly, staring down at the foaming controal panel Shinji sprayed, "All I saw was a massive energy spike before it exploded,"  
"Holy shit!" came Herb's voice.  
"What's going on up there?" Misato asked loudly, trying to calm herself down. "S-Saffron's transforming!" came the reply.  
Kiema's eyes widened, "Oh no!" She rushed out of the room and ran down the corridor. Everyone was too busy trying to find out what was going on to even realize this. They were all scrambling around in the control room as panel after panel started to explode, Shinji putting out the flames the best that he could, Asuka grabbing the other extinguisher and helping out.  
"What going on here?" Misato said, her voice almost failing her. She found it very hard to keep in control in a situation like that. She had no idea what was going on above since everyone was well beyond the city limits and she didn't know why the panels were exploding. "What the hell do you mean Saffron's transforming? Into what?"  
There was a long pause before Herb's voice came into the control room.  
"A Pheonix!"  
Everyone except for Saffron and Kiema were gathered around the debriefing room.  
"Lettme get this straight," Ritsuko said to Herb, "Saffron changed into a Pheonix? As in transformed? Into some kind of bird of fire?"  
"That's what I saw," Herb said seriously, "Basically, it all came down to this. Saffron and I had our hands full fighting the Angel and were losing. I guess Saffron knew Ranma and the others weren't going to make it on time before the Angel managed to get past us and down to GeoFront where there will be no one to stop it. He said to me, `Behold my true form',"  
"Go on," Ritsuko said. Everyone else was listening intently.  
Herb took a deep breath and continued on, "This weird flame-like aura grew around him and I saw him, basically, transform. I can't really explain it to you because I was pretty shocked at what I saw. Heck, even the Angel was surprised,"  
"I don't understand what you mean by transformed," Misato said, "How can someone like that transfrom?"  
"Because Saffron's a Pheonix in human form," Ranma said, interrupting, much to the relief of Herb, "Saffron's true form is that of a Pheonix. I always knew Saffron held back, even during that fireball contest we had over the ocean, but damn, I had no idea he held back that much. You've seen Saffron's projectiles, haven't you wonder why they're all fire-  
based?"  
"But a Pheonix?" Sylia asked, "As in the Pheonix in Egyptian mythology. I thought it was just a myth and that it wasn't real,"  
Ranma shook his head, "No. It's very real,"  
"But that's impossible," Ritsuko said.  
"What's with you thinking everything is impossible, Ritsuko?" Ranma asked, "Quit bein' so stubborn. Like Akane,"  
"What?" Akane said.  
Ranma grinned but ignored her and said, "There's a lot of things that you just can't understand,"  
"Like a guy changing into a girl when splashed with cold water and back into a guy when splashed with hot water," Linna said nonchalantly, looking at no one in particular.  
Ranma coughed like something was stuck in his throat.  
"What did he look like?" Asuka asked Herb, curious.  
"Picture a giant eagle with a red body that is surrounded by fire and you have Saffron's true form," Herb said. "At least that's basically how I can describe it. I must admit, though, it was quite a sight to behold. When he camed into his Pheonix form, he let out this huge, I mean mile wide radius, beam of pure fire right at the Angel. Although I don't know for sure, but I swear that that beam of fire must have been hotter than the surface of the sun. I'm glad he shot it upward toward the Angel so the blast would go out toward space. If he had shot it downward, it would have probably had gone right through the Earth's crust and out the other side,"  
"He shot out a sun?" Rei asked softly.  
"That's pretty much it," Herb nodded.  
"What happened to him? Where is he?" Linna asked, "I haven't seen him around. Heck, where's Kiema? I haven't seen her around either since she ran out of the control room,"  
Ranma looked at Herb and then turned toward the group, "Although by the time me and the others showed up, Saffron was already gone. But If I'm correct, then Saffron is reborn,"  
Herb nodded. "That's what I saw," he said.  
"What do you mean?" Linna asked.  
"Well, you know about the legends right? About how a Pheonix with consume itself in fire and will be reborn? Well, Saffron's immortal. He'll never die. He simply gets reborn. Heck, after I defeated him using a technique that would've obviously killed him, he was reborn again. He'll continue to do so. That's why he's considered immortal,"  
"I'm getting a headache," Misato said. "We should all seem to be getting headaches after hearing all this," Nene said wryly.  
"So what happened to Kiema?" Shinji asked. "Does she play a role in this?"  
Ranma turned toward Herb, "Did she take him?"  
Herb nodded.  
Ranma turned toward the group and said, "Kiema is basically Saffron's caretaker. I assume there was more than that, but we'll leave it at that. Like last time, after the two of us fought, Saffron was reborn and Kiema took him with her back to Mount Pheonix where he would be raised again,"  
"Waitaminute," Misato said, "You mean Saffron was reborn as a child?"  
"More like a baby," Ranma said, "I don't really know much about it, but when Saffron takes too much damage or releases all his heat and energy, her reverts to an egg where he will be reborn as the baby version of what you saw,"  
"And Kiema took him back home with her?" she asked.  
Ranma nodded, "Unfortunately, yes,"  
"So that means-" Shinji began.  
"Yes, Saffron basically sacrificed himself to defeating the Angel. We've lost Saffron and Kiema,"  
"Will he, um, ever be able to help?" Sylia asked.  
Ranma shook his head, "No. Saffron was around sixty when he fought the Angels. I doubt a two week old Saffron will be of much help,"

Ranma stood in front of a single tombstone that was surrounded by soild steel on either end. The tomstone stood at the bottom of a cylindrical chamber that located well below NeoNerv. Actually, NeoNerv had been erected above the cylindrical chamber since that chamber had been there first.  
Everyone else were going about in NeoNerv above, trying to repair the damage that had occurred to the control room during Saffron's transformation. "Hey, Ranma," Ranma said, "You know what's weird? I dunno why, but I felt compelled to visit you. Do you know why? You wouldn't happen to know why, would you? I know it's been a long long time since I last visited ya, about four months, and I mean, sure, I should visit your grave more often, but frankly, it kinda freaks me out having to do so because it constantly reminds me of my own mortality, which is pretty much a reason why a lotta people don't visit a person's grave,"  
The just stared down at the grave for several long moments, wondering what to say. "Saffron reverted back to his baby form again, Kiema took him back home with her. The battle ahead of us isn't going to get much easier and will be much harder now that Saffron's gone," he said, "I'm pretty sure we can stop the Angels. They've given us trouble, sure, but we should be able to hold out. And above that, I'm learning how to use my AT field more effectively. Once I can, it's going to help out a lot," He took a deep breath, wondering what else to say. He chuckled to himself, wondering why he was telling all of this anyway, but for some reason, he found it a bit comforting, like the way a young child would take comfort talking to a father about his day and his problems.  
"Oh yeah, Ritsuko found out that the Angels attacking us have no core like the other Angels on the other world," he added, "It's pretty messed up because that means we have to find some new kind of weakness because every Angel don't seem to have any common one. Hey, you know what I just noticed, I seem to be talking to you like I would to mother...I mean to Unit-01 when when she...when it and I were alone"  
From above him, Ranma heard clinking noises. He looked up and saw Rei slowly climbing down the ladder. He watched her carefully as she descended down the ladder and eventually reached the site of Ranma's grave.  
"Rei," Ranma smiled, "What a pleasant surprise. How didja know I was here?" Her presence made the place feel less cold for some reason, less barren.  
She replied softly, "I don't really know how, but I sensed you were down here,"  
Ranma smiled, "Well you guessed right,"  
"Why are you down here?" she asked, looking at the grave. She bowed politely in respect toward the dead, "Why all of a sudden?"  
"I don't know," Ranma said, shrugging his shoulders, "I felt compelled to come visit the grave. I don't know why though,"  
Rei's stomach grumbled.  
Ranma smiled warmly which seemed to bring a blush to Rei's cheek, "Well, it looks like you're hungry. C'mon, let's go get something to eat,"  
"Um, all right," she said softly. She proceeded to ascend the ladder.  
Ranma turned toward the grave and said, "Well, I'm gonna go eat now. See ya around Ad...Ranma." He opened his wings he flew upward as Rei proceeded climb the ladder, grabbing her up in her arms, "I'll give you a lift," he smiled as he hovered up toward the top of the chamber. "I'm flattered you came all the way down there to check up on me,"  
In the control room, Ritsuko was alone. She had heard the whole thing.  
"I don't like this," Ritsuko said. She and Misato were sitting around in the livingroom of their apartment. Lisa was fast asleep. It was somewhere around mindnight. "I know you heard it also. That Angel called Ranma Tabris,"  
"You don't think Ranma's going to be the seventeenth Angel, do you?" Misato asked.  
"I hope not," she replied, "There's so many mysteries right now. These Angel's have no common weakness, as in no core. Before Saffron changed into a Pheonix and was reborn, he had mentioned about talking to Ranma one night while he was going to take a soak in the bathtub that Ranma refers to his real self as his `human self'. The MAGI seems to read pattern blues for both Ranma and the Angel yet the alarms don't sound when Ranma's near there. How does all of this fit together?"  
"Do you think Ranma's turning into the Angel that we will end up fighting?" Misato asked.  
"Do you remember what that Angel said? `You're fighting the inevitable, Tabris'," Ritsuko said, "What could it have meant by that?"  
"I think the Angel was talking about stopping the rest of the Angels, that it would be inevitable, and that the Angels will suceed," Misato commented sullening, a feeling of dread.  
Ritsuko shook her head, "I don't think it's that. I think what the Angel means by inevitable, is Ranma's ability to surpress his Angel tendancies,"  
"What do you mean?"  
"This is all a theory," Ritsuko said, "But there are many things that have me worried. For instance, remember how Ranma told us how he used the Lance of Longinus to defeat that Angel on the other world, that Angel where he was born? Well, you know the myth behind the Lance? That anyone who uses it is destined to die a tragic fate. Do you think something like that could happen to Ranma? Could he die trying to save us...or worse, die trying to reach Adam, Ranma's `human' self,"  
"This is all a theory!" Misato spat, getting angry, "Ranma won't do something like that! He would never jeopardize any life, much less ours,"  
"Well, think about it," Ritsuko said, "On several occasions, Ranma has risked his life with no idea of whether or not he was going to survive through it. Who says this Ranma won't die doing the same thing? Afterall, he's destined, if the myth behind the Lance in true,"  
"That's bullshit!" Misato said, "And why the hell do you call him `This Ranma'? He's still the same Ranma we know,"  
"Yes, as of right now. I just hope it stays this way,"  
Misato found herself nearing the verge of tears all of a sudden as she said,  
"R-Ranma, h-he can't be destined to die,"

Ranma yawned as he walked about his house early in the morning. "Man, sometimes it feels too early to go out practicing," he muttered, stretching his arms out. It was somewhere around six thirty and no one else was up, at least he didn't think so.  
He was in his usual attire as he exited the house and went to the dojo. He wanted to pratice a bit on his own before the other woke up where he would then go about exhausting himself in his feeble attempt at perfecting the use of his AT field.  
When he entered the dojo, he was surprised to see Asuka there, going through some kata forms.  
Ranma smiled a bit as he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms in front of his chest, watching intently. Asuka had this look about her, like she was letting out her frustrations. Her movements were precise but had this edge to it that Ranma noticed.  
"You should relax more," Ranma said, stepping forward when Asuka was finished.  
Asuka looked at Ranma and straightened up and gazed at Ranma, "Ranma, what do you want?"  
"G'mornin'," he replied, ignoring the hostility in her voice. He smiled warmly, "You're up early. I've never seen you practice this early. You're usually sleeping,"  
"That's none of your business," she spat angrily.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders and went about doing some routine stretches, "All right, forget I said anything,"  
Asuka glared at him before she turned around and went about throwing shadow punches at an invisible target, using some very advanced combinations Ranma was quite impressed to see.  
Through with his stretching, Ranma went about doing his own kata, starting out slow before moving about at a faster pace before he eventually started moving at full speed. Asuka couldn't help but stop and watch him. His movements were perfect and every punch and kick looked deadly.  
"Is something botherin' ya?" he asked, finished with his forms. Asuka didn't even realize that she was staring at him until he spoke.  
She quickly said, "Nothing,"  
"Something's wrong,"  
"Fine, if you really want to know," Asuka said, rather annoyed, "Shinji managed to beat me yesterday in a sparring match,"  
Ranma smirked, "I told ya. Shinji's speed and strength would eventually beat out over your experience as he got more experienced,"  
"You know how much I hate that? It's no fair!" Asuka nearly shouted, "He's a wimp! I've been practicing martial arts for over a decade! How the hell is he able to beat me?"  
"He's guy," Ranma said.  
Asuka glared at Ranma, "You're an asshole! That's the last time I ever tell you anything!"  
"You want me to teach you?" he asked with a shrug of his shoulders, "I can show you some very good techniques,"  
"I don't want your help!"  
Ranma ignored her and said, "What did Shinji do that made you lose?" Asuka was momentarily caught of guard but said, "He keeps shoulder throwing me. Because he's stronger than me, I can't physically break out,"  
"That's easy," Ranma said, "You don't need to use strength. Just stop him from actually using his hips to throw you,"  
"I-I don't understand what you mean,"  
Ranma extended a hand, "Take my arm and throw me,"  
With reluctance, she did as Ranma was told. She grabbed his arm, stepped toward him and turned around, bending at the waist, throwing him over her shoulder. He landed on the floor on his back with thundering force but got up like it didn't hurt.  
"It's easy to shoulder throw someone if you don't do something about it," he said, extending his hand toward her, "Now I'm going to do something that'll prevent you from doing so. I won't hit you or nothing. You won't get hurt but you will not be able to throw me. Throw me again,"  
Asuka reluctantly did executed the same move. Just as she was about to bend at the waist, Ranma pressed a hand against her backside.  
"You pervert!" Asuka shouted, turning toward him and slapping Ranma, hard.  
"What the hell didja do that for?" Ranma said, rubbing his cheek. Sometimes, he wished his innate AT field would protect him from any attack instead of just the life threatening ones. "I was trying to show you how to prevent you from getting thrown and ya slap me. Jeez."  
"You're just a pervert!" Asuka said, "All you're just using that as an excuse to grab my butt!"  
"W-w-what?" Ranma said, eye windening. He quickly composed himself, clearing his throat, and smirked, "It's not like I want to grab your butt. Jeez. I ain't into that subtle stuff and I ain't that kinda guy! I've got a lot more control than that. For instance, the front of your gi is open, and you don't see me glaring at your breasts or nothing!"  
Asuka looked down and saw that the front of her gi were indeed open and that a good portion of her cleavage was exposed. She closed the front of it and slapped Ranma again, but this time, he caught her hand.  
Ranma smirked, "I betcha you left the front open on purpose, hoping to tease me or somethin',"  
Asuka blushed a horrible shade of red. "I-I d-did not!" she shouted, "I-I would never do something like that! Besides, I think you're an asshole and would never at all feel attracted to you!"  
Ranma peaked an eye at her, "Um, I never said that I thought you were attracted to me,"  
"Um, er..."  
"Y-you're attracted to me? Oh my god, I never knew that!" "I-I a-am not a-attracted to you!" she shouted, blushing a horrible shade of red.  
"Don't lie to me," Ranma smirked, "I know you kissed me that night I was unconsious in that hospital bed and you were alone beside me,"  
"What? How did you know? You mean you were awake all that time?"  
Ranma's eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets as he said, "Oh my god, I was only joking around!"

"Hey, Eva, what's up?"  
"You haven't come to visit in a while, Ranma," Eva said. He was lounging around in the debriefing room, having decided to take a small break from repairing the exploded panels. Ranma, Herb, Mint, Lime, and Taro had skipped training today to help out in NeoNerv, all of them still trying to fix the damage that that power spike had caused due to Saffron's transformation.  
"I'm sorry, I guess I've been busy trying to get this AT field thing down correctly," he said, "And it doesn't help that every time I do try it out on my own, I end up falling asleep for the rest of the day. It's the same thing over and over again. I wake up, I train along for a short while. Everyone else wakes up, we have breakfast and then go about our day,"  
"Yes, I know, I hear the conversations that go about within the facility," Eva said.  
"Oh yeah, speaking of that, that medical team, are they legit? I mean, they don't have some kinda secret plan or agenda do they?" he asked.  
"If they do, then they don't talk about it in here or I would have heard,"  
"All right, just asking," "Ranma, we'd all like to talk to you," Misato said.  
Ranma had just entered the control room. While he had been in the debriefing room talking to Eva, everyone had come to a decision. It had taken several hours before it had finally settled, but now they finally realized that they were all in serious trouble, what with Saffron no longer able to help.  
"What is it?" he asked, sitting down in a nearby chair, curious. Everyone seemed to be staring at him.  
"We would like you to bring Unit-01 from the other world so it could help us out," Misato replied, "We've realized that at this rate, we won't be able to hold out much longer against the Angels. We need some more reinforcements, and Unit-01 will be perfect,"  
Ranma shook his head, "No can do. If I take Unit-01, someone's gonna be blamed for its disappearance, and that will most likely result in the execution of your other selves. I can't risk that,"  
"Don't you understand? We're going to be in serious trouble," Misato said, nearly shouted, "How in the world will you guys be able to fend off these Angels? It was hard enough for you guys to fight 'em off when Saffron was helping out. Now the next Angel will most likely be even stronger, and smarter, and we will be short one extra person. We should have Unit-01 around, just in case,"  
Ranma said nothing. Misato's words did seem to strike a cord. The group was in a bit of trouble now that Saffron was gone. He looked at the others, "Do you really think we should do it? I oppose it,"  
Taro shrugged his shoulders, "I don't really know what to say. However, before Saffron transformed, he mentioned about his conversation with you and Unit-01. If this Unit-01 is even half as powerful as you told Saffron, then it would help out greatly,"  
"We could use all the help that we can get," Herb commented.  
"I agree," Ritsuko said.  
"Yeah, but what if Unit-01 gets damaged? How the hell are we gonna fix it?" Ranma asked, still trying to come up with some reasonable arguements. He believed he should leave well enough alone. Bringing Unit-01 could help out quite a bit on this world, but could also mean the deaths of several people that he considered friends during his short stay on that world.  
"How can we not? You guys built a damn headquarters!" Misato said. She seemed to be the one most intent on convincing Ranma. "We have plenty of resources left over from the slums. Worst case scenario, you rip the resources off from a local military base or something. Heck, steal a sub, take it apart and use the metal to repair the armor."  
Ranma thought about it for a moment. "You have a point there,"  
In a flash of light, Ranma appeared high over Tokyo sometime around midnight. Since he had his wings, he didn't have to worry about his gravitaional descent toward the ground far below. In his hands was the nanban mirror.  
As he hovered there, he quickly scanned the surrounding mountains for the one that he knew housed the Nerv Headquarters of this world. It took him a moment before he recognized the familiar mountain range.  
Spotting his destination, Ranma flew off toward the mountain.

Misato sat in front of her desk of her office and sighed. It had only been an hour since Ranma had left this world to go back to his own in hopes of asking his enemies to help him out with their inevitable battle against the Angels. She wondered how Ranma would do. She assumed he would do all right. This was Ranma afterall. She wondered if she would ever see him again. Figuring it wasn't possible, she looked down at the papers in front of her. They were all complaints from the citizens on that final battle between a Ranma controlled Unit-01 and the other two Evangelions that had happened only a short while ago.  
"Hello," came a soft voice from behind her, startling her.  
Misato wheeled around in her chair and almost fell out when she caught sight of Ranma.  
"I'm back for a third time," he smiled.  
"R-R-Ranma, w-what are you doing back here?" she asked, her heart racing. She couldn't believe much a sight for sore eyes he was. Although he had only left this world an hour ago, knowing that she would probably never see him again made her miss him dearly. And here he was, back yet again.  
Ranma said, "Things are looking bleak on my world,"  
"But you just left an hour ago," Misato said. She wondered if she should go tell the others that Ranma was back. He nodded, "True, it seems like I left a short while ago, but actually, several months have passed back on my own world,"  
"R-really?" Misato said, her eyes widening. Ranma didn't look like he had aged a single day since he had left. "Then that means you must be battling those Angels you have mention when you had been here last time,"  
"Yes," he said, "And we're having trouble,"  
"Y-you are? What's going on back on your own world?" Misato got up from her seat. She walked over to a nearby couch in the corner of her office that she sometimes used to sleep on. Ranma sat down next to Misato on the couch, "Well, I managed to gather several people to help out. After doing that, we built ourselves our very own Nerv Headquarters, and am currently in the process of fighting the Angels,"  
"How many Angels have you fought so far?" she asked, curious.  
"We've defeated four of 'em so far," he said, "That means the next one that will attack will be the seventh Angel. Our last battle was our hardest one. We ended up losing one of our teammates in the battle,"  
"I-I'm sorry to hear that," Misato said, sympathetic.  
Ranma shook his head, "He's okay, but he won't be able to help out anymore. Anyway, that's why I'm here. We are having a lot of trouble, and I was asked to come to this world to bring Unit-01 back with me,"  
"Oh," Misat said, a bit sadden.  
Ranma managed to notice her visage change slightly. He quickly added, "Of course, I also wanted to drop by and also say hi. Afterall, I haven't seen you and the others in several months,"  
Misato's eyes brightened a bit, "You did?" She blushed a bit. It was strange. She couldn't quite explain how Ranma had this effect on her. Sure, she knew he was lying, but it was nice that he was also thinking about her feelings and thus lied. Knowing that he lied just to keep her happy made her feel better.  
"Um, how is everyone doing?" Ranma asked, a bit restless. He wanted to get back to his own world as soon as possible. Misato seemed to notice this, and said, "Well, it's only been an hour since you left, afterall,"  
"Um, that's good to hear," he said.  
There was a moment of silence.  
"You know where Unit-01 is, right?" Misato said, "You can go and fetch it. It's bound to help you out back on your own world,"  
Ranma was a bit surprised and said, "A-are you sure? I mean, I just want to letcha know that I opposed this. I don't like the thought of putting your lives at risk in exchange for the extra help Unit-01 will provide us,"  
Misato smiled a bit, "My, you have such a warm heart. But just promise one thing,"  
"What is that?"  
"That you'll come back," she said.  
"Of course I'll come back. I'll bring back Unit-01 once we defeat all the Angels," he said, nodding.  
"It's not Unit-01 that I want coming back,"

Ranma looked up at Unit-01. He was alone in the bay area that housed the three Evangelions, Unit-01 being one of them. "Well, it looks like I'm back," he said, this warm feeling in his heart. Although the sight of a huge Evangelion would most likely strike fear into a person's heart, it seemed to have the opposite effect on Ranma. It was as if he was seeing an old friend after a long time.  
It only took him a moment before he remembered how to 'will' Unit-01 to life. The Evangelion seemed to shift its head toward Ranma, its eyes glowing as if glad to see him once again. Ranma lept up into the air and landed skillfully on Unit-01's right shoulder. He smiled a bit, "C'mon, Unit-01, let's go to my world. Hey, you know what, I just thought of something. Perhaps I should give you a name." He thought about it for a moment, "I can't think of a name at the moment, but I'll come up with something. Let's go,"  
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his nanban mirror. Shedding a tear onto the mirror, he and Unit-01 disappeared into thin air.

Ranma and Unit-01 appeared high in the air just in time to fight off the seventh Angel. They reappeared sometime around noontime, almost two weeks since Ranma had left. It seems that time seemed to travel faster on this world when he was gone.  
Herb and the others were ontop of their usual building, the highest building in MegaTokyo, when they were momentarily blinded by a brilliant flash of light that appeared in front of them. After shielding their eyes, they caught sight of Unit-01 and Ranma, whom was on the Evangelion's shoulder, as it seemed to hover in the air for a split second before gravity took over and sent them hurtling toward the ground far below. They whole group stumbled, even thought hey were so high above, when the huge Evangelion landed on the ground far below, causing earthquake-like thud.  
Everyone landed on the roof of a building adjacent to where Unit-01 was standing, Taro, in his moster form, carrying Mint and Lime as he and Herb hovered down from above. At the sight of Unit-01, they all stared at the machine, their mouths agape.  
"T-t-that's the Unit-01 y-you were talking about?" Lime commented, his heart racing.  
"Yeah, ain't she a beaut?" Ranma smiled, leaning against the Evangelion's huge head, patting the hard armor a few times.  
"It ugly as sin!" Mint said.  
Ranma's eyes narrowed a bit. He took a deep breath and said, "Anyway, this is Unit-01 I've been talking about,"  
Herb eyed the monstrosity carefully. He said into his communicator, "Well, Ranma's back. And he's brough Unit-01 back with him,"  
"It's about time," Misato said, "Give him your communicator. I'd like to talk to him,"  
Herb shrugged his shoulders and took the communicator off, giving it to Ranma. Ranma put it on and said, "I'm back,"  
"What the hell took you so long?" Misato nearly shouted, "We've been worried sick about when you were going to show up!"  
"I'm sorry," he replied, "Jeez. It's not like I could help it. I was only on the other world for an hour. But it seems that nearly two weeks have elapsed on this world. And also, why are you yellin' at me? You were the one that wanted me to get Unit-01 for ya. I was just doing what you wanted me to do,"  
Misato sighed and said, "Well, anyway, I'm glad you're back, and on time,"  
"What do ya mean? Has the seventh Angel showed up yet?"  
"Yes, it's already been detected heading straight toward MegaTokyo from the west," came her reply, "It seems to be taking its time and will be here in about an hour,"  
"Ranma! Why the hell did you just bring back Unit-01? Why didn't you bring back Unit-02 instead?" Asuka's voice almost made Ranma's go deaf, "Why did you only go and bring back Shinji's EVA and not mine? I'm the better pilot! That means you should bring back my Eva!"  
Ranma chuckled, "Yeah, I'm glad you missed me too,"  
In the control room, Asuka blushed beet red but quickly composed herself. "What makes you think I miss you? I miss my Eva!"  
"First of all, Asuka," Ranma's voice echoed into the control room, "Unit-01 is nothing like Shinji's Unit-01. This is not the same Evangelion that you remember. It's totally different. It's probably more powerful than all three of your Evas combined,"  
Shinji turned toward Nene, "Anyway you can get an image of it on the screen? I'd like to see it,"  
"Same here," Misato and Ritsuko said in unison.  
Nene said, "But don't you think we should keep the satelite image on instead?"  
"Ah, let them see it," Priss said, "Besides, all of us are curious as to what this legendary Unit-01 looks like anyway,"  
Nene shrugged her shoulders and quickly punched a few buttons. An image of Unit-01 appeared on the screen. It was an odd angle shot, taken from a camera mounted on a nearby building. Everyone in the control room seemed to gasp when they saw the Evangelion, even Ritsuko.  
"T-that's Unit-01?" Ritsuko asked, her eyes every bit as wide as the others, "I-it's nothing like I expected!" The first thing she noticed that, although it had the same coloring pattern as Shinji's Unit-01, the armor was very different. It was think, seemed to be molded around the EVA to give it a more menacing look and was probably twice as think.  
"Jeez, it's a monster," Shinji commented, unable to comprehend how his EVA could look so different than the one he remembered. He wondered if he would be able to pilot it like he did his own.  
"Hmph, I betcha I could wipe the floor with it if I had my Unit-02," Asuka commented confidently.  
"Who is going to pilot it?" Rei asked softly, silent until now.  
"Actually, no one needs to pilot it," came Ranma's voice, "I can control it. However, after this battle, I think someone should control it so I don't hafta concentrate on fighting and controling Unit-01 at the same time,"  
Shinji quickly said, "I get to pilot it first!"  
Misato looked at Shinji, a bit surprised at how much Shinji had changed. He didn't seem to be as shy as he used to be. It must be that incident where Shinji had defeated Asuka in a sparring match that made him more confident of himself.  
"How do you know you'll be able to pilot it?" she asked, smirking a bit. Shinji blushed a bit. He quickly looked down at the ground.  
Nene, a bit nervous, punched a few buttons and the satellite image of MegaTokyo came back on the screen. It was lucky that she did because the Angel seemed to have picked up speed and was heading only a few miles away from MegaTokyo.  
"Oh shit, it's almost right on top of you!" Priss nearly shouted.  
"Everyone, the Angel is just one mile away from you and coming in fast!" Linna said.  
"What should we do?" came Lime's voice.  
Misato smiled a bit, "Let's see what Unit-01's capable of,"  
Ranma and the others stood in the far off disatance as Unit-01 stood by the shoreline. It had only taken everyone a minute to get into position. In the distance horizon, there was a small speck, indicating the incoming Angel. "You sure this EVA can take care of the Angel alone? I mean, all of us have trouble combined. Is it that strong?" Mint asked Ranma.  
Ranma nodded, "Yeah, it's that strong. The final Angel I fought back on the other world, I didn't even touch. Unit-01 seemed to have no trouble defeating it,"  
"I have a question," Herb said, "Aren't you the one controlling it? You're the one making Unit-01 doing what you simply 'will' it to do,"  
"Kinda," Ranma replied with a shrug of his shoulders, "I remember making Unit-01 come to my rescue, but I had been knocked unconsious by the time it got there. However, it moved on its own and defeated the Angel without my telling it to,"  
"So that means you don't have full control over it," Taro commented.  
"Not absolute control. No,"  
Everyone was silent.  
"What will we do if it goes beserk on us?" Mint asked curious figuring Ranma had the answers, all of the answers.  
Ranma replied in a soft voice, "It's got a self destruct button somewhere inside. I'll find a way inside of the EVA and simply self destruct it,"  
"You'll die in the process," Herb said, seemingly respecting Ranma a little bit more now.  
"No I won't," Ranma said, serious, "I've made a promise to Misato on the other world that I will be going back to pay everyone a visit. I have no intention of breaking that promise,"  
The Angel, which looked, once again, exactly like Ranma with wings, stopped when it caught sight of the menacing Unit-01. It just hovered in the air, several hundred feet in front of the EVA, assessing it. It recognized it. It was the same EVA that had defeated the Angel's brethren on the other worlds.  
Figuring it was best to destroy this monstrosity from afar, the Angel shot several energy blasts right at Unit-01, shocked when it saw a red ripple appear in front of the EVA, the energy blasts dissipitating. It realized that Unit-01 had a impenetrable AT field.  
Unit-01 continued to stand there, not a single energy blast hitting it.  
After several minutes of continuous fire, the Angel got impatient and made a mistake. Wanting Unit-01 to attack back, hoping it would leave an opening, the Angel hovered forward. However, as soon as it got close enough to the EVA, the EVA's eyes blazed to life as it extended a massive hand upward and grabbed the unsuspecting Angel.  
As Unit-01 tightened its massive hand on the Angel, a cylindrical AT field seemed to form around the Angel as it seemed to scream out in pain, making it look like the EVA was grabbing onto a red rod.  
As the Angel continued to scream and seemingly writh in pain, the EVA pressed the thumb of its free hand down toward the Angel's head, pushing down with such force that a loud snap reverberated through the air as the Angel's neck seemed to to break.  
Everyone in the control room turned away from the screen, unable to look. The sound of the Angel's neck breaking was a sound that they would never forget. It sounded horrible. Even though it was an Angel hell bent on the destruction of the world, everyone felt sympathetic toward it, beiliving not even the Angel deserved a death like that.  
"Oh god," Taro said, actually shocked. He knew of the power of an Angel's AT field, yet witnessing Unit-01 breaking through it with its bare hands made him realize just how powerful it was.  
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Mint commented, this weird taste in his mouth. He could almost feel his stomach lurching, wanting to bring up its contents. He had never witnessed something so gruesome before.  
"What the?" Lime nearly shouted as he saw Unit-01 beginning to move again.  
The EVA, still holding the dead Angel in its hand, brought his hand high into air and then slammed it down on the beachfront, the Angel's flacid head slamming into the sand headfirst, a crater being created from the impact. After that, Unit-01 released its grip, standing to its full height, before bringing a massive foot down on the Angel, the foot becoming embedded into the sand all the way up to the ankle.  
"Okay! Stop!" Ranma shouted out. He had no idea that Unit-01 would continue to pulverize its opponent until he 'willed' it to stop. The moment he wanted the EVA to stop, it did. It simply straightened back up to its full height, standing stilling as if awaiting orders.  
Ranma and the others rushed toward the beachfront, as everyone in the control room seemed to still be in a state of shock.  
Upon arriving at the scene, Ranma looked down into the crater where the Angel lay motionless, only the bottom half of its body protruding from the ground. He then looked up at Unit-01 and said, "C'mon dontcha think that's overdoing it?"  
He wondered what Unit-01 had done to that Saffron Angel back on the other world since he had been unconsious at the time and unable to witness the EVA's actions. Whatever it was, he assumed it was a death as horrible as this one.  
Herb and the others looked up at the EVA. For the first time, they were able to see just how big it was. Their necks hurt from having to bent their heads back so far to see its head. Although they had seen Unit-01 from the vantage point of a tall building, this was the first time they could compare the EVA's size to their own. Ranma spoke into his communicator, "What should we do with the body?"

Everyone was gathered outside of NeoNerv Headquarters where Unit-01 stood, gazing at it in awe. Several hours had passed since the battle. It was probably now around six or perhaps even seven. Since there was only artificial light down in the GeoFront, no one could tell the passage of time while underground.  
"Man, where the hell are we gonna put this thing?" Ranma asked, leaning against Unit-01's left foot, his arms crossed over his chest. "It's not like we can build some kinda EVA bay. It's just too much work,"  
"Why not just out here?" Nene suggested, "There's plenty of room. It's not like we need to house this giant robot anyway,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "I have no problem with that,"  
Shinji continue to stare up at Unit-01. He had been simply staring at it all this time.  
"It's nothing like the one I remembered," he commented, "It looks so...menacing,"  
"You think we should change the armor?" Ranma asked, "But then again, it'll probably be real hard physically removing it by hand and finding some new armor for it," As he noticed Shinji wasn't paying all too much attention to him, he added, "Are you interested in piloting an Evangelion again?"  
Shinji seemed to have heard that for his eyes lit up, "Yeah, of course I am!"  
"What about me?" Asuka asked, feeling left out. She believed Ranma should had brought back Unit-02. It would had been more wise because she was the better pilot afterall. But then again, she had to admit that Unit-01 seemed extremely powerful.  
"What about you?" Ranma asked innocently, "It's not like I can bring back two of 'em. Besides, all we need is one,"  
"It wouldn't've hurt," she commented. She missed Unit-02. She wanted to feel the joy she got from piloting her Evangelion and destroying Angels. She would much rather be piloting than monitoring the actions of others from the confines of NeoNerv's control room.  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Well, if things get outta hand, I'll go back and bring back Unit-00 and Unit-02. There, ya happy? But at the moment, Unit-01 is plenty, ne?"  
Asuka gave Ranma an odd look but eventually agreed. She had to admit that Unit-01 had dispatched that last Angel with no trouble whatsoever.  
"Okay, Shinji, so you're interested in piloting the thing, huh? Well, since we seem to have some free time, why not give it a run," Ranma said.  
"How is that possible?" Ritsuko said, "I mean, Unit-01 is in no way connected to NeoNerv. It'll take at least a couple of months to get the proper equipement and install it into the EVA so we can monitor everything from within the EVA. That seems highly implausible, what with the Angels attacking,"  
Shinji frowned. Does that mean he won't be able to pilot?  
"I dunno," Ranma said, "Why're ya guys all looking at me? I don't know this stuff,"  
"Yet you can control her," Misato commented. She had been meaning to ask him about that. "It comes, I dunno, natural," he replied, "All I hafta do is simply 'will' the EVA to do what I want her to do, and she does it. It's kinda hard to explain. It's like trying to explain riding a bike. Hm, hey, there is something that might make it possible for Shinji to pilot her,"  
"Really? How?" Shinji asked, hopeful.  
"Well, can't we plug Eva into Unit-01?" Ranma suggested.  
"Eva?" everyone asked, curious.  
"I mean the MAGI computer," he corrected himself, "You can install only one of its three components, and since they all work together, it shouldn't be hard for two parts to the MAGI to monitor its third part,"  
Ritsuko raised an eyebrow, "You know what, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. That seems pretty feasible. I'll get right at it,"  
"Cool,"

Ranma yawned as he roamed around NeoNerv, entering the controle room. It was probably nearing two in the morning, and Ritsuko was still at it, working on porting a part of MAGI over and into Unit-01. The entire crew no longered bothered to trek back to their homes because, God forbid, if an Angel attacked, they would be nowhere near NeoNerv to repel the attack.  
Ritsuko slid out and looked up from under the desk. She smiled when she noticed it was Ranma, "Ranma, what brings you here this early in the morning. You're usually asleep now,"  
"What, you keep track of when I sleep? What do ya do, come into my room and watch me sleep or something?" Ranma joked sleepily.  
Ritsuko blushed slightly but managed to compose herself. She wondered if Ranma would ever give up on the teasing. Probably not. She got up and sat on one of the chair, taking a sip of the cold coffee that sat on top of one of the computer terminals. It tasted horrible.  
"Bad, huh?" Ranma asked. "You want me to go get you a fresh batch?"  
She shook her head, glad at his gesture, "Not thanks. I'm gonna goto sleep very soon. No need staying up to the wee hours of the night twisting and turning from the caffine,"  
"So, how goes everything?"  
"Everything's fine," she said, "However, I seem to have found some odd things to the MAGI. There seems to be extra partitions to each of the three individual components that seems to have somehow been set aside for no reason. I tried to access it, but can't for some reason. Might you have any idea? I remember you called the MAGI Eva. Does that have anything to do with it?"  
Ranma nodded, "Yeah. But I think I'm supposed to keep it a secret,"  
"What? Keep what a secret?"  
He shook his head, "I don't think I'm supposed to tell you,"  
"You may tell her"  
Ritsuko nearly jumped out of her seat when she heard that third voice, a female voice. "W-what the hell was that?" Some of the coffee spilled onto her white labcoat.  
"That's Eva," Ranma said, "She's the name I gave for the MAGI,"  
"What?" Ritsuko asked, confused. "Run that by me again, who's Eva?"  
"I am," Eva's voice filtered into the room, "I am the MAGI from which you have created, Akagi-sama,"  
"Holy shit!" Ritsuko nearly shouted, almost falling back out of her seat, dropping her cup of coffee, "Y-you can speak! Why didn't you ever speak before?"  
"I felt no need to," Eva replied.  
"That doesn't explain much," Ritsuko said, "Why? Why did you feel no need to?"  
"Because I trust only Ranma,"  
Ritsuko walked into one of the many bedroom that had been created within NeoNerv. She and Nene were going to be the only one's at NeoNerv that night, everyone else having gone back to their homes to sleep.  
"Jeez, I can't believe it, the MAGI I created is sentient," she said to herself, lying down on the bed. It was probably around four in the morning. She had spent the past two hours talking with Eva, as Ranma called her, about how far down the line she was in her path to becoming fully sensient. From what Ritsuko was able to deduce, Eva was indeed sentient, but her judgments seemed to be clouded by her obvious infactuation with Ranma. She giggled a bit because she knew exactly where that came from, because she had given Eva parts of her personality. She blushed. How embarrassing that the personality to manifest from her personalities would be the one infactuated with Ranma. She had to wonder if Ranma realized this, that Eva was very much like her creator.  
Something seemed to bother her though. Now that she knew MAGI was sentient, would it be wise to have a part of her be put into Unit-01? What would happen if an Angel attacked in the form of a computer virus like that one back on her own world?  
That was what worried her.  
However, she didn't dwell all that much on that pondering because she was too tired to sleep.

Asuka awoke at around five in the morning, a bit earlier that she was used to. However, she was not surprised to find Ranma wide awake, sitting in his kitchen cooking himself a hearty breakfast. Still clad in her pajamas, she entered the kitchen, where the source of that delicious smelling fragrance had emanated.  
"You're up early," Ranma commented. Although he hadn't slept much, it looked like he had a perfect night's sleep. He turned back around and went back to cooking his breakfast.  
"So are you," she said, sitting down in a nearby chair. She gazed at Ranma for a moment. He was clad in his usual attire, but since Asuka was still half asleep, the outfit gave an almost attractive quality to him she had never noticed. Of course, she would never admit it.  
"When you pay NeoNerv a visit today, you're going to be in for a surprise,"  
"Oh?" Asuka asked. She wondered if Ranma had used the nanban mirror to go retrieve Unit-02.  
"So how goes everything?" Ranma asked, "You still sparring against Shinji?"  
Asuka smiled slightly. It was nice of him to show a bit of interest in what she was doing. Her visage grew a bit dark when she realized something. "Yeah, it's going okay,"  
"Did what I teach you help?"  
Asuka gritted her teeth. Yeah, it had helped out a great deal, more than anything she had ever tried to learn when countering one of Shinji's shoulder throws, and it was all because of Ranma. "Yeah, a lil bit,"  
"So who beats who?"  
"I beat him of course," Asuka said, now awake, smiling triumphantly, "You don't think I'm gonna let some twerp like Shinji get the better of me, do you?"  
Ranma smiled, "Perhaps I should teach Shinji how to do the a move I call 'The Perfect Shoulder Throw',"  
"What's that?" she asked, curious. It sounded like a very effective technique.  
"It's basically what the name means," he said, "It's a shoulder throw that you can not counter, now matter how strong or skilled you are. I developed it myself,"  
"There's no martial arts move that can't be countered, especially a shoulder throw," Asuka said confidently. She knew her martial arts.  
"Make a bet?" he smiled, "I betcha I can shoulder throw Taro, in his cursed form, with him fully aware of my doing so, but totally unable to counter it,"  
Asuka was silent. Perhaps Ranma was telling the truth. "Um, well, can you perhaps teach me it?"  
He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess,"  
She smiled a bit at him. That would give her an edge over Shinji, whatever that technique was. Ranma had taught her about five techniques since they had begun living under the same roof, and those five techniques were perhaps the most effective moves ever. Simple, yet highly effective. That was what Ranma's fighting abilities were.  
"Why are you staring at me?" Ranma asked, eyeing Asuka.  
Asuka blushed as she realized she had been indeed staring at him. She quickly turned her head away from him.  
"You ain't thinkin' of another way to kiss my while I'm unconsious, are you?" he asked, smirking.  
"I am most definitely not!" Asuka snapped. Why did he have to go bring it up? The morning had started off so well between the two of them and he had to go ruin it by making some stupid comment like that. "And for your information, I did not kiss you while you had been unconsious,"  
"Sure, whatever you say,"  
At around noontime, Ranma stood on Unit-01's shoulder, 'willing' the massive EVA to flip Herb and Taro the middle finger as they hovered at shoulder height to the EVA. The adult males were gathered around the slums for their routine sparring session, to help keep themselves sharp and focused. However, today, Ranma seemed to be having a ball infuriating Herb and Taro.  
"You wouldn't do that if you didn't have that damn AT field protecting you," Herb commented. Today, Ranma had discovered that he can produce an AT field every bit as impenterable in Unit-01's presence as the one he could create when Rei was by his side. However, there seemed to be a difference between AT fields. The one being produce seemed to be due to a close proximity with Unit-01, not actually contact like with Rei. Ranma could seem to generate an AT field indefinitely provided he was nearby Unit-01. He could move about a full city block away from the EVA without tiring from generating an AT field, any more and he would get dizzy and start getting tired after prolonged periods.  
Ranma laughed, continuing to taunt Herb and Taro, "I have an AT field and you don't,"  
He continued to taunt them for several minutes before he got bored. When he stopped generating the field, Harb and Taro seized the oppertunity and beat the living crap out of Ranma, but without causing much bodily harm, fearing the wrath of the females.  
After several sessions where Ranma continued to experiment with his AT field, still unable to hold it over a minute by himself, they resorted to fighting in hand to hand combat, so Mint and Lime could take part.  
As it neared two in the afternoon, when everyone was finally getting into the intense sparring, an alarm sounded throughout the area. It was the alarm Ranma had put in in case anyone down in NeoNerv wanted to get a hold of them while they were on the surface.  
It took only a few minutes before Ranma and the others entered the control room, still sweaty from their sparring session and jogging all the way.  
"Jeez, go take a shower, all of you guys stink," Asuka commented.  
Ranma ignored her and said, "What's up? What didja want us for?" He walked over to one of the few cabinets and took out several communicators. It was obvious they had some kind of operation, perhaps not fighting an Angel since it had only been a few days since the last attack.  
"Well, as you can tell on the viewscreen," Misato said, "The Japanese army is once again mobilizing. From what we see, its slowly mobilizing to execute a pincer attack, one from the west and one from the east. We have no real idea when they would attack, but we all believe it would be very very soon,"  
"What do you think we should do?" Lime asked.  
"As you you had to ask," Misato grinned. "All right, Ranma and Mint'll go fight on the west front since the advancing army seems to be completely made up of troop and tanks and some armored vehicles so that means it's going to be a ground attack. Taro and Herb will attack the eastern advancing front because it has several choppers and would most likely try an aerial attack first. Lime'll stay here in case anyone makes it through. And in a worst case scenario, Ranma'll get his butt back here to control Unit-01 if it's really needed,"  
"Sounds like a good idea," Ranma said, proceeding toward the door.  
On the eastern front Ranma and Mint awaited for the tanks and troops to round the bend in the road where they would be ambushed. In the distance, they could hear the rumbling of the mobilizing tanks, which were still a far ways off. At the moment, they had some time to kill.  
"Hey, Ranma, you feel bad that Saffron is no longer with us?" Mint asked, hoping to indulge in a conversation to pass the time.  
He nodded, "Yeah, it's going to be a whole lot harder without him. However, now that we have Unit-01, we should be able to manage,"  
"Um, about Unit-01..." Mint began, wondering what to say.  
"Yeah, what about it?"  
"Shinji mentioned to me that this Unit-01 is different from the one he piloted back then," Mint commented, "But exactly how is it different. I guess it's my not having seen the other that makes it harder for me to picture,"  
"Well, it has the same paint job, but that's just about it," Ranma said, trying to remember Shinji's Unit-01, "The general shape is similar also. However, the armor is a lot thicker, and the face looks all the more menacing. And above that, the first one didn't really look all that powerful even though it was. This one, just looking at it, you know it's powerful,"  
Mint shrugged his shoulders, "So, whatever happened to that other Unit-01?"  
"It's probably been destroyed by now," he replied, "Keep in mind that Shinji and the others aren't from this world,"  
"Yeah, I know that, but nothing much else,"  
"Their world went through a similar test to what we're going through right now," Ranma added, "But the difference is that the Angel we're fighting are so much stronger. Why? I have no idea. The strongest Angel from back then is weaker than the weakest Angel we fought here,"  
"Man, that's crazy,"  
"Yep,"  
There was a moment of silence.  
Curious, Mint asked, "So, how does it feel to have died?"  
Ranma ignored his question and said, "Looks like we have company. I guess those tanks were a lot closer than we thought,"  
With that said, Ranma headed forward, toward the bend in the road, Mint following suit.

On their western front, an uncursed Taro was walking as Herb hovered by his side.  
"Hey, I'm getting a bad feeling about all of this," Herb commented.  
"Oh?"  
"Ritsuko is getting seriously worried," Herb said, "She mentioned this to me a few days ago about how she believes Ranma is destined to die,"  
"What? That's absurd," Taro said, "If he's going to die, it's going to be by my hands, and I wouldn't consider it his so called destiny,"  
"Anyway, it had to do with this thing she called 'Lance of Longinus'," Herb continued on, "She said that Ranma had used that on the other world, the world where he was supposedly born. And the thing is, that lance is supposed to have this curse where the wielder of the lance is destined to die a tragic death, and that seems to have her, and Misato for that matter, worried,"  
"Is she doing anything about it?" Taro asked, his full attention on the young looking king.  
"I don't know," he replied, "What can she do? Nothing much. She could tell him to be careful, but that's just about it,"  
"Well, we should worry about that latter cause here comes the army..."

Ranma and the others entered the control room, seemingly joking with one another. It was now nearing ten at night. It seems the army had actually put up a pretty good fight this time around, lasting for several hours. But then again, the group had been short one extra person.  
"You think the army has learned its lesson yet?" Taro asked, wincing as Priss applied the peroxide onto a few of his wounds. Taro had gotten hit by several grazing bullets. Luckily, the wounds were superficial.  
"Hold still, will ya?" Priss said, glaring at Taro.  
Taro held still.  
"I think so," Ranma said, leaning against the wall of the infirmary, "But then again, I think that by now, they're outta tanks to throw at us. All that are left is the navy and air force,"  
"Jeez, you say that is if they're gonna be easy to defeat," Asuka snapped, "What the hell's wrong with you? You're going to get yourself killed,"  
Ritsuko gritted her teeth as she heard those words.  
"Not necessarily, I could always have Unit-01 get rid of 'em," Ranma said, smiling.  
"So why dontcha?" Asuka asked.  
"Cause I don't want people getting killed," Ranma replied matter of factly, "They're only doing their jobs, that's all,"  
"Well, it still doesn't justify looking at the navy and air force without much worry," Sylia said, looking up. She had been wrapping an ace bandage around Lime's ankle because the idiot had tripped, "Keep in mind it'll be much harder to intercept the air force,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders.  
"There, you should be as good as new in a day or so," Priss said to Taro.  
"T-thank you," he replied softly, blushing a bit.  
Ranma smirked, "What's this? Does Taro here have some kinda crush on Priss? What's with the blushing?"  
"Shut up!" Taro spat, getting up, "I may have been wounded, but I'll still wipe the floor with you,"  
Nene stepped in between the two and quickly said, "No fighting boys. We have other things to worry about afterall,"  
Ranma said, "Fine. Well, I'm gonna go home. I'm getting tired and wanna get some sleep,"  
"Why not sleep here in NeoNerv?" Mint asked. He found no difference between sleeping here or elsewhere.  
"I like sleeping in my own bed," came the reply. "I'll be back early in the morning though, when we debrief," He then left the room. Everyone lounged around. Actually, not everyone. Asuka sat in her chair, which had been right next to the hospital bed Taro sat on, and didn't say much. She was wondering if it was all right to go talk to Ranma now that he was alone.  
Taking a deep breath, Asuka got up and went after Ranma a short moment after he left.

"Ranma, can I talk to you for a moment?"  
Ranma turned around and faced Asuka. He was a bit surprised to see her since she usually said something to him when she wanted to criticize him. They stood facing one another near the entrance to NeoNerv. Unit-01 could be seen looming above them just off to the right of them.  
"Anythin' the matter?" he asked patiently.  
"Um..." she paused. She stopped for a moment, recalling what had happened this morning between her and Shinji. She found it harder and harder to defeat Shinji in their usual sparring match. Sure, the outcome was always the same, her being the winner, but on several occasions she found herself more winded than Shinji was. It also didn't help that Shinji started using different methods for the sparring, no longer relying on shoulder throws.  
"Well?" Ranma asked, still waiting.  
"Can you teach me that perfect shoulder throw you mentioned earlier?" she said in one quick breath, her heart racing. She never liked the thought of having to ask someone for help, let alone Ranma. But then again, perhaps it was because of Ranma that didn't make her feel all the more uncomfortable.  
Ranma nodded, "Sure. Well, if you're not busy, then we can head on up to the surface and I'll teach you in the dojo,"  
"Um, thanks,"

Ranma continued to twist and turn in bed. It was now somewhere around three in the morning and he hadn't slept a wink. He wondered why he had told everyone he had been tired and wanted to sleep when it was obvious that this was neither the case.  
After a few more minutes, he sat upright. He found it strange that as time prgressed, he found himself less yearning to sleep. Sure, he still slept, but most of the time it was restless, him not falling asleep until the wee hours into the night.  
Perhaps it was the dreams. He kept seeing himself standing in front of Ranma's grave for some reason. He didn't know why he was there in the first place, or what he was going to do, but he always felt this compulsion to visit the grave in his dreams. When awake, on a few occasions, he had thought to go visit his gave but was usually distracted into doing something else. Like the other night. If Asuka hadn't come to him and asked him to teach her a new technique, he probably would had ended up in front of the grave. Not that there was anything wrong with visiting a grave, he thought to himself.  
Ranma and Asuka were both in the dojo in the morning, to finish up on what Ranma began showing Asuka on his so-called perfect shoulder throw. No one else was there since Ranma had noticed that Asuka got a bit nervous when others were watching. He went over the basic motions slowly on how to execute the technique. At first, Asuka couldn't understand why it was uncounterable, but took it as a given since Ranma said it was. She believed that if it could be countered, Ranma would know, and since he didn't, then what he said was trued.  
They spent the better part of the morning perfecting the move, Asuka slowly and clumsily shoulder throwing Ranma to the mat as he continued to critique her form, telling her what motions she was doing wrong.  
When noontime rolled around, Asuka and Ranma were surprised at how much time had already passed.  
Taro entered the dojo, a towel around his neck and said, "Yo, if you guys are hungry, Akane's made some lunch for all of us," He and the other guys had been busy sparring without Ranma down in the slums. They had just gotten back for their break. Strangely enough, their session was not as interesting or productive had Ranma been there.  
Ranma turned toward Taro, "Good, just the person I wanted to see,"  
"What do you want?" Taro asked Ranma suspiciously.  
"Asuka, I want you to test the technique out on Taro here," Ranma said, placing a hand on Asuka's shoulder.  
"What technique?" Taro asked dumbly.  
"I taught Asuka an uncounterable shoulder throw, and I wanted her to use it one you while to see if you can prevent her," Ranma replied.  
"I-I can't," Asuka said, her heart racing. Ranma smiled patiently, "Yes you can. Here, I'll show you," He walked across the mat toward Taro and said, "Taro, I'm going to shoulder throw you. I want you to do whatever you can to counter it. The only thing is is that you have to attempt to counter it once I have a hold of you, not before,"  
Taro smiled, "All right," He would knew several devestating counter throws and would be glad you use them on Ranma after how he had embarrassed him in front of the girls like that, saying he had a crush on Priss.  
Ranma walked over to Taro and took hold of him. A split second later, Ranma shoulder threw Taro onto the mat, still holding him on the mat, Taro's arms now bent at an odd angle that would mean dislocation at a flick of Ranma's wrist.  
Asuka's eyes were wide. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Taro was a very skilled martial artist, as skilled as Ranma, and he knew exactly what to anticipate yet couldn't counter that move. To think of how effective it was if her opponent wasn't expecting it.  
Ranma continued to do that technique several times, each attempt uncountered. After several more times, Taro shook his head, "All right, that's enough,"  
Ranma turned toward Asuka, "All right, now you try,"  
Nervously, she walked up to Taro, his tall stature looming over her. He held both arms forward for Asuka to take a hold of in preparation to attempting her new technique. Her head barely reached up to his broad shoulders. She swallowed a lump in her throat, "I can't,"  
"Jus' try," Ranma said patiently.  
Asuka took a deep breath. She then took another and then attempted to execute the technique. She ended up shoulder throwing Taro with perfection, Taro absolutely shocked that he could do nothing to prevent being thrown bodily to the mat, hard.  
"I-I did it!" Asuka said, eye wide, her heart soaring toward the heavens. Shinji was in trouble now.  
Taro got to his feet and congradulated Asuka, "That was probably the most perfect execution I had ever seen. Well done," He bowed to her respectfully before turning toward Ranma and saying, "Well, you and Asuka should hurry up and wrap things up or everyone's gonna eat without you,"  
"All right," he said.  
Asuka, still giddy from learning the new move, jumped up and gave Taro a quick hug, "Thank you," She turned toward Ranma and did the same, only stopping when she realized what she was doing. She blushed a bit and said, "Um, I'm going to go eat now," before she turned around and headed for the house.  
"Where did you learn that move?" Taro asked Ranma curiously. He wondered what other moves Ranma knew.  
"A while back," Ranma said smiling, "I also have many other techniques that I never use. Heck, I even know a whole new stance,"  
"A new stance? You mean aside from that 'Anything-Goes' stance you take?" Taro asked, an eyebrow raising.  
Ranma nodded.

Ranma gestured toward the now empty sink. It was now nighttime. Several days had passes since the last Angel attack. Ranma and the others went about spending their days sparring and preparing for the next attack. When night rolled around, due to lack of light, everyone spent their nights at Ranma's house, a few people staying behind at NeoNerv to monitor activities, just in case an Angel did decide to attack.  
It was a night like this, when everyone was gathered around in the kitchen, save for Lisa and Ritsuko, the two of them back at NeoNerv doing the monitoring for the night, did Ranma once again act like the Ranma everyone knew.  
"Why're you geturing toward the empty sink?" Misato asked curiously. "Because it's empty," Ranma said proudly, "It's empty because I did the dishes,"  
"So what? I've been doing the dishes all this time and you never see me asking for gratitude!" Akane said, getting angry. Ranma smiled, "Yeah, but it's different. I'm a guy,"  
"What?" Akane said.  
"Don't you think it's considerate of me to do the dishes?" Ranma asked.  
"Tell me I did not hear that," Sylia muttered silently to herself. "Tell me he does not want acknowledgement for having done the dishes,"  
"What the hell do you want, a medal?" Akane said.  
"Not really," Ranma said, "It's just that I did the dishes. I never do the dishes,"  
"And who the hell do you think does the dishes?" Akane spat, "What, you think they magically clean themselves?"  
Ranma, still the idiot, said, "No. I know they don't clean themselves. You do it. But then again, it's a girl's job,"  
"What?" all the girls said at once. Even Rei was surprised.  
"Um, I'm going to go upstairs now," Shinji said, quickly leaving the kitchen area.  
"We'll come along," Herb, Taro, Lime, and Mint said, quickly rushing out.  
Ranma was now alone in a room full of females.  
"Do you want to die?" Akane asked coldly. "I can't believe you would say something like that!"  
Ranma held his hands up defensively, "Jeez, all I was hoping for was a thank you. Afterall, I just did the dishes,"  
"Well, when the hell did you ever thank me for doing the dishes, huh?" Akane retorted.  
"But it'st your job to do 'em," he replied.  
"That's it, you die tonight!" the girls all said, rushing Ranma.

Akane looked at the huges stack of dirty dishes. The pile was higher than herself. It was absolutely disgusting. Ever since Akane had exploded and told Ranma she would never do the dishes until Ranma realized what he had said was out of line, the dishes had begun piling up. It had been two days since that night. It also didn't help that Ranma and the other guys had begun using paper plates and cups. She stormed out of the kitchen and up to Ranma as he watched some television. "Ranma, get the hell in there and clean those dishes! It's all your fault!"  
"Mine?" Ranma said, "How's it my fault?"  
"You're supposed to clean the dishes!" Akane said.  
"Fine, all right, I've learned my lesson," Ranma said, getting up and proceeding toward the kitchen.  
"And what might that be?" Akane asked, her voice a bit softer now. That was all she wanted, for Ranma to realize that he had been out of line to say it was a girl's job to do the dishes. She had no problem doing the dishes, not one bit. She didn't even care that Ranma nor anyone else thanked her. It was the principle, that Ranma actually thought it was her job to do the dishes that bothered the hell out of her.  
"Well, what lesson might that be?" Akane asked, waiting for the words 'I was wrong'.  
"I'm never going to take the initiative and do the dishes again because now I'm stuck doing them because of that..."  
"Die!"

"Of course I love you," Ranma called out in his sleep. He was in the livingroom when he had fallen asleep on the couch. He hadn't slept much the night before since he had injuries that had been caused by certain disgruntled females that kept him awake. Lack of sleep had finally taken toll, Ranma falling asleep almost while everyone sat in the livingroom.  
"W-what did he just say?" Sylia's eyes widened, her gaze on Ranma. She could have sworn he had said he loved someone.  
In his dream, Ranma was giving Jun a piggy back ride as the two of them walked amoung a grassy hill, enjoying the heat from the sunlight shining down on them. He hadn't seen his Madigan nor Carper in quite a while, and missed their daughter the most. She always made Ranma smile. "How much do ya luv me?" Jun asked in that cute innocent voice of hers. She held her hands outward, "Do ya luv me this much?"  
"I love you even more than that," Ranma said aloud. "I love you with all my heart,"  
"What's Ranma dreaming about?" Nene asked, a slight blush rising in her cheeks. She wondered, for a split moment, that Ranma could perhaps be talking to herself in his dream.  
"I'm glad I met you," Ranma said aloud. In his dream, Jun had told him the same thing.  
"You know what I found out the best thing is? In the whole wide world?" Jun asked, smiling.  
"What?"  
"A great big hug," she replied, "Because it's free and makes people happy,"  
"You're so right," Ranma said. He flipped her over his shoulder where he could hold her in his arms. He gave her a caring hug, his heart melting as he heard Jun's happy laugh and warm embrace.  
The girls watched, eyes wide as Ranma hugged the couch cushion lovingly, all envious of the cushion. What were they thinking?  
"We can we go out on a date again?" Jun asked, "I liked that date we went on and wanna do it again. I liked the amusement park,"  
Ranma smiled and said, "After everything is done and over with, the first thing I'll do is ask you out. How's that?"  
"Who is he talking about?" Asuka asked.  
"We don't know. He could be talking about you for all we know," Rei answered softly.  
Asuka blushed this horrible shade of red as she said, "No! I-I don't think so! Why o-on Earth would he s-say something like that to me?"  
"Hm, I wonder who the cushion would be?" Sylia asked curiously. She wondered if she could be so lucky to believe Ranma could be hugging her. Nah. That's just wishful thinking on her part. But then again...what could it hurt.  
"Man, he sounds like an idiot," Taro said to Shinji.  
Shinji said nothing. He wondered if he himself had ever talked in his sleep. He hoped not. Otherwise, perhaps he might have said who he loved.  
"I'll wake him up," Herb said getting up off his seat and proceeding toward the couch Ranma was sleeping on.  
"No!" all the girls shouted, "You better not!"  
Herb meekly said, "Okay," and then sat back down. The girls continued to watch Ranma. Perhaps he might say the girl's name. Then they would know who he loved with all his heart. As all the other guys watched, wondering what they saw in such an idiot like Ranma, the girls continued to listen carefully.  
After about five minutes of talking in his sleep, Ranma yawned as his eyes slowly opened. When he realized where he was, he sat upright and said, "Man, I just had the greatest dream,"  
"You did?" Sylia asked, acting curious, "Please, tell us what it was about then,"  
Ranma scratched his head, "Hm, I can't remember now,"

Ranma was casually walking down one of the many corridors of NeoNerv when he accidentally bumped into a slightly familiar person. The person was a young woman, looking no older than his late twenties. She was one of the people that made up the medical team that constantly occupied NeoNerv.  
"I-I'm sorry," the young woman said, "I should have been watching where I was going,"  
"Don't worry about it. It was my fault, Hinako" he smiled. He smiled again, "Hey, didja know that you have the same name as one of my school teachers when I was young?" He had never really talked to her before. He constantly saw her with her medical companions, but never bothered to engage in conversation with her until now.  
There was a moment of awkward silence. "Um, where were you headed?" she asked, filling the silent void.  
"I was headed toward Ranma's grave. I've been having these strange yearnings to visit him more often," he answered. When the young woman gave him an odd look, he added, "It's a different Ranma. We have the same name. Well, actually, we are the same version...it's just weird and kinda hard to explain,"  
"You mean that tombstone at the bottom of this facility is your gave?" she asked curiously, a bit more attentive.  
Ranma shook his head, "Not really. But that doesn't matter anyway,"  
"How come?" "All that matters is that we protect it," he said matter of factly, "If we don't, then that means the end of this world. Y'know those things we've been battling? Well, they're trying to reach that gave and if they do, well, I guess we all die,"  
The young woman swallowed the lump in her throat.  
"People think we're nuts, what with us going against those Angels and the Japanese army, but what can we do? I can't let the government have it because I've heard of horror stories about what had happened from Misato and Ritsuko. Luckily, they managed to survive that ordeal back on their world to tell us about this..." Ranma added.  
"Other world?"  
"Don't worry about it," he said, "It'll all turn out okay. When it does, I'll tell ya then,"  
"Um, o-okay,"  
"Well, I guess I better get going now," Ranma smiled sweetly, bowed, and then went on his way.  
The young woman watched Ranma as he rounded the corner.  
"Damnit, I knew I shouldn't've asked questions..."  
Ranma entered the control room. He and the other males had just finished their usual morning sparring session. Ranma hadn't felt up to sparring all that much, stopping the session early. Several days had passed since he had visited Ranma's gave. If the next Angel kept to the pattern, that would mean the next attack would be in two days. Ritsuko, upon realizing the guys' return to NeoNerv, had called a meeting.  
"What's up?" Ranma asked, sitting down in his chair.  
"Well, we," Ritsuko gestured toward Nene and Lisa, "Have managed to partition the MAGI and it's ready to be ported over into Unit-01. However, I have taken several safety precautions,"  
"Like?" Herb asked.  
"Only one part of the MAGI can control Unit-01 while its two counterparts will continuously monitor for any erratic behavior or signals between that part and the EVA," she said, "And if the two do find anything of suspicion, they can both override the first part's control of the EVA where we would be able to take over from there from within NeoNerv. That way, we won't have to worry about a so called mutiny from that part of MAGI without the consent of its other two parts, which is pretty much impossible since each part is totally different from one another,"  
"But what would happen if they do cooperate with each other?" Lime asked.  
"It wouldn't matter, Ranma will be able to control her,"

"Eva, quit following me, you're making buildings fall!" Ranma shouted. Unit-01 had been following closely behind him as he had been on his way home. Every step Unit-01 took, a building would come close to or perhaps even fall due to the shaking every step was making.  
Unit-01 looked down at Ranma. If Ranma looked into its eyes, he could swear it had a starry look to it.  
"I can't help it, I want to be near you," came Eva's voice from one of the exterior speakers Ranma had installed a short while ago.  
"You've gotta be kiddin' me..."  
Ranma was walking down one of the NeoNerv's many corridor when he bumped into the young looking doctor, Hinako. "Oh, hi, Hinko, fancy bumping into you again," he said in a warm voice. It was odd that Ranma was conversing. Instead, he should be focusing on the impending Angel attack that would occur in a very shorty while if the Angel attack kept to its biweekly pattern. "Um, hi, R-Ranma," she said, smiling weakly.  
"How come I never really see you or any of your fellow coworkers out side of NeoNerv? I mean, it's a nice day out, why not go out for a short while?" he commented, "It's much better than being cooped up in here, ne?"  
Hinako shrugged her shoulders, "I guess so. If you say so. However, I think that could wait. I wouldn't want to be caught outside when one of those things attack,"  
"Don't worry, if they do, me and the others will be there to protect everyone," he answered.  
"Um, I-I'm glad to hear that,"  
Ranma and Asuka were the only ones walking the many corridors of NeoNerv at around three in the morning. They were on watch that night, everyone else having gone back to their respective homes for some rest. Since someone had to be in NeoNerv to stand watch, just in case an Angel broke its pattern and decided to attack earlier. Just in case. Actually, Ranma and Asuka weren't the only ones that occupied NeoNerv. The entire medical team was also constantly on the premises. However, they never ventured out of the infirmary, let alone into the control room to monitor activities.  
"I'm bored," Asuka said. Although it was well past her bedtime, what with her usually going to sleep around one in the morning back at Ranma's house, but since she ended up getting getting teamed with Ranma for the night, she definitely didn't feel all that sleepy. Actually, she felt a bit jumpy.  
"Hm? What was that?" Ranma asked, turning toward her.  
"I'm bored," she said. "So? What the hell do ya wanna do, kiss?" he joked, smirking mischieviously. He had a funny feeling that he knew Asuka pretty well and that she was the type of person who would do something like that when she was bored.  
Asuka blushed beet red, "What? No!"  
Ranma chuckled, "I'm just joking. Lighten up,"  
There was a moment of awkward silence. Actually, it was more like an eternity of awkwardness for Asuka while Ranma remained oblivious, not knowing how much he had unnerved the young girl.  
"Um, what wrong with that anyway?" she managed to say, swallowing the lump in her throat.  
"Huh?" he asked, "What the hell are you talkin' about? You wanna kiss me or somethin'?"  
"Um...no!" she said after a moment.  
"Then why didja pause like that?" he asked, "Man, what the heck's goin' on in that dirty lil mind of yours?"  
"Dirty lil mind? What the hell are you talking about?" she spat, "I don't have a dirty mind!"  
"Yeah, you do, you stole my underwear," he smirked, "I remember, you were looking through my underwear draw a while back. You were trying to steal my underwear. You're a female version of a panty thief,"  
"I am not!" Asuka shouted, "And for your information, I had been looking for the nanban mirror!"  
"Nah, looking for the mirror was just an excuse to go romping through my underwear," he teased.  
"Ranma!" she glared at him, "You're such an asshole!"  
Ranma held a hand forward, a finger on Asuka's lips, motioning for her to be quiet.  
"No, I won't be quiet," she said, swatting Ranma's hand away, "I don't know why the hell I volunteered to be on watch with you tonight,"  
Ranma gave Asuka an odd look, "You volunteered to be on watch with me tonight?"  
Asuka quieted immediately. Sometimes she wished she had thought things out before she said them, like that time she had said she had been attracted to him back there in Ranma's dojo a while back. Now he was never going to leave her alone because of that.  
When Asuka finally had thought of a reasonable thing to say, Ranma placed a finger on her lips against, letting her know she should be quiet. This time, Asuka did as Ranma wanted her to do, even though she really wanted to defy him.  
"I hear something," Ranma said softly, looking down the corridor.  
Asuka looked up at Ranma curiously and then down the corridor Ranma was looking down.  
"Stay here," he said before he made his way down the corridor quietly, his footsteps making no noise what so ever.  
Asuka chose to defy Ranma and followed after him. However, her footsteps could be heard echoing slightly. If it weren't for Ranma being right in front of her, he could easily disappear into the shadows and could remain undetected until he decided to let his presence known. How Ranma could erase his presence was beyond Asuka's comprehension.  
Ranma sighed as he looked at Asuka, and then looked around the corner.  
"Oh damn," he said to himself, just loud enough that Asuka could hear.  
"What's going on?" she asked as softly as possible.  
Ranma motioned for Asuka to remain quiet. She did that and listened like Ranma was doing.  
"I don't think this is right," came a voice, a female voice. Ranma recognized that it was Hinako's voice.  
"An order is an order," came a male voice. "Now, have all of the C4's been placed?"  
"Yes,"  
"Oh damn," Ranma said softly, "This is bad," He looked at Asuka and then back around the corner, "This is not good,"  
"What's going on?" Asuka asked softly, curiosity getting the better of her.  
"Y'know our so called medical team? Well, they're just around the corner, but they are no longer wearing white labcoats and scrubsuits...they're wearing full covert operations gear," he answered.  
"C-covert operations? W-what are they...oh no," Asuka finally realized. The so called medical team had never been a so called medical team. And to think she had believed they were what they appeared to be. How could she be so stupid?  
"Shit, we've been found out," Ranma said. He noticed that the conversation that had been taking place between the so called medical team had suddenly stopped. They must had heard him speaking to Asuka. Without saying anything, he quickly grabbed Asuka, picking her up and ran down the same corridor from where he and Asuka had originally come from.  
"W-what are you d-doing?" Asuka said, also noticing that her heart was now racing and she was holding onto Ranma tightly.  
"There they are!" Asuka managed to hear. She looked back over Ranma's shoulder and saw two individuals round the corner. They were both dressed in black fatigues, ski-mask, and all, like a SWAT team.  
Asuka didn't have time to shout before she realized that she and Ranma were being shot at. Bullets sprayed the walls directly in front of Ranma just moments before he rounded a corner. In a situation like this, Ranma would had easily been able to take out the entire team single handedly. However, Asuka was with him and her safety was Ranma's main concern.  
"We've gotta get help," Ranma said, running down the corridor. He was heading for the control room. From there, he would be able to contact the others.  
As Ranma, still carrying Asuka, rounded another corner, a shot could be heard from behind. "Ah, shit!" Ranma said, continuing his run, not slowing down.  
"Ranma, you were hit!" Asuka gasped. She could see a small trickle of blood trailing down Ranma's right shoulder, from the would where a bullet had grazed him.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's too bad that damn AT field only works for those life threatening hits," he made an exaspperated comment. He quickened his running, his hold on Asuka tight.  
As he and Asuka rounded one last corner, the entrance to the control room could be seen just ahead of them. However, before they could enter it, a massive wave of fire emerged from the entrance as the control room seemed to explode from within. The explosion was so powerful that it rocked the very foundation which NeoNever sat upon.  
Ranma, just moments before the wave of fire hit them, turned his back toward the fire, shielding Asuka from the blast. Asuka screamed out in fright just moments before she closed her eyes, expecting her life to end quickly. As she embraced Ranma tightly, she could feel the scorching heat as it rode over her and Ranma. However, it was not so intense that it was burning her.  
"Ah shit! It's hot!" Ranma started yelling, dropping Asuka as he proceeded to strip off his shirt, which was on fire.  
"Ranma!" Asuka shouted, not believing what she was seeing. The back of Ranma's shirt was on fire as he desperately tried to put out the flames and take his shirt off at the same time. Not even knowing why she was still alive, she quickly got to her feet where she proceeded to help Ranma out of his shirt. "T-thank you," Ranma said gratefully as he looked down at the charred remains of his shirt.  
Asuka's eyes widened as she noticed Ranma's back. It was cut and bleeding where some shrapnel and debris had hit him. However, there were no burn marks, thank goodness. "R-Ranma, y-your back,"  
"I'm fine," he answered her, "It's just a scratch, it'll be gone by the next day,"  
Ranma looked up and noticed that the ceiling was about to fall, "Oh shit!"  
Asuka looked up also and came to the same conclusion. She screamed against, falling to the ground, covering her head as she saw a massive steel beam falling down.  
Without a second thought, Ranma held both hands up and caught the beam moments before it was supposed to crush them. The ground below Ranma's feet dented downward from the shear force exerted on Ranma from the falling beam.  
"You okay?" Ranma asked Asuka, still holding the beam overhead.  
"Um, y-yeah. I-I guess," she said, "Thanks to you,"  
"Damnit!" Ranma gunted as several more beams fell from the ceiling, all of them landing ontop of the one Ranma was holding overhead. Asuka could see the muscles of Ranma's naked back rippling from the shear strain of supporting several dozen tons of steel from crushing the two of them.  
"Get the hell in the control room!" Ranma said through clenched teeth, "This stuff's heavy!" The ground below his feet was slowly starting to sink downward, unable to support the weight Ranma was supporting.  
Asuka quickly did as she was told, heading past Ranma and into the now desimated control room.  
"There he is!" came a voice as someone rounded the corner.  
Ranma, knowing that he was a sitting duck by staying where he was supporting those beams, released his hold of them, letting them drop down as he quickly lunged backwards and into the control room. The beams fell and covered the entrance to the control room, leaving both Ranma and Asuka safe from those heavily armed covert ops members just on the otherside of the debris.  
Breathing a bit heavily, Ranma got up to his feet and looked around. There was little light in the room, the only light being the tiny rays entering the room from a tiny opening among the debris blocking the entrance.  
Asuka was right before him, staring up at him, waiting for him to do something, anything. She, at the moment, was at a complete loss over everything that had just transpired.  
"W-we're trapped," Asuka commented, her voice a bit strained.  
Ranma raised his hand, his left hand. A moment later, it started to glow, illuminating the room with a fait blueish light.  
"No, we're not, I can get us outta here," he said, taking a moment to catch his breath.  
"A-are you all right?" Asuka asked, concern in her voice.  
"Yeah, I'm fine..." he said after a short pause. A moment later, he knelt down on the ground where he placed his right hand against it and gave his shoulder a good wrench, shoving the joint back into its socket. He gave out a yelp of pain as he did that.  
"Ranma!"  
"I-I'm fine. T-the beams dislocated my right arm," he said, "Heh...a new body...an old injury,"  
"What was that?" Asuka said.  
"Nevermind," he said, moving his right arm in a circle, testing it.  
"Um, w-what should we do?" she asked, "What happened back there? That was the medical team...but it wasn't. What did they want?"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno. I'm as baffled about what had happened as you are," He looked at the entrance, "Hm, we better wait before we get outta here, they're probably still waitin' for us on the other side,"  
"There's no way to contact the others," Asuka commented, looking around. In the faint blue light, she could easily asertain that everything in the room had been destroyed, "Damnit, why did they do this? It doesn't make sense,"  
"I guess the army finally realized it was useless to send the army in so they sent those covert ops people," he commented, "However, something is really bugging me,"  
"What is it?"  
"I asked Madigan and Carper to help us out, and those people were the ones sent," he said, "Now, if they turned out to be covert ops agents, then that means Madigan and Carper must be in danger since they would never betray us,"  
"Are you sure?" Asuka asked. She knew that not everyone turned out to be the person they expected. Everyone had their secrets and secret agenda.  
"Yes. Something's very fishy," he said, "It seems the army was aware of us since the beginning in order for them to somehow intercept the original medical team and send in those covert ops agents. That means they must be in danger or perhaps under watch by the army or such,"  
"You think they could be held up somewhere and told to cooperate with the army since they believe Madigan and Carper somehow know us?" Asuka asked, "They could be in trouble,"  
"And if they aren't, then we hafta help them,"  
"What about the Angels?" she asked.  
"Well, we're gonna hafta deal with both the Angels and helping Madigan and Carper out at the same time," he said, "I just hope they're all right. I wish this had happened earlier, so we could go help them out earlier too. They could be in some holding cell all this time for all we know...and Jun, I wonder what could've happened to her? They better not had done anything to upset her,"  
Asuka said nothing. Ranma must really care for Jun, she thought. More than anyone else.  
"Damnit, I guess we better get the hell outta here and fast," Ranma said.  
"But what about waiting for those troops to leave?" she asked.  
"Forget them, we hafta gather up the others and fast and think of a plan," he said, "We could perhaps send Taro or Lime or Mint to go save Madigan and Carper and Jun,"  
"But what about-"  
"The Angel? We've got Unit-01. Thanks goodness Ritsuko and Lisa managed to port over the MAGI in time. We can use Unit-01 to detect the next incoming Angel attack," he said, "Man, imagine how much trouble we would be in if they hadn't? Damn, I can't believe the government, sending those people like that. They could've just cause all of humanity its existance. What the hell could they be thinking?"  
"It's just like the government back home," Asuka said solemnly, "After we managed to defeat the last Angel, the stormed into Nerv and proceeded to kill everyone, so they could get their hands on the EVA units..."  
"Get their hands on? Oh man, I didn't even think of that, what could they have infiltrated into NeoNerv for?" he quickly said, "Could they have been after something? Shit, we hafta get the hell outta here. Right now, they could be getting their hands on something very important while we're stuck in here...oh no! They can't be!"  
"What?" Asuka asked, her heart skipping a beat. She didn't like the look in Ranma's face. Something must be really bad for him to look so upset.  
"Well, they can't be after the MAGI since they already toasted two of its three parts. They can't get their hands on the EVA because they would need a whole army in order to move it somewhere. That only leaves one other thing...they have to be after my other self," "Oh no!" Asuka gasped.  
Ranma quickly nodded, "Took the words right outta my mouth," He rushed toward the entrance where he proceeded to single handedly move each steel beam aside, pulling the out of the rubble and into the control room before proceeding to pull more and more out. Asuka, unable to do much else, could only watch as Ranma pushed his body to its limit as he vigorously moved the heavy object aside.  
"C'mon, we've gotta get down to the gravesite, to make sure, and perhaps stop them," he said, "Stay close to me, Asuka. I don't want you gettin' hurt if a battle breaks out. Just stay close to me and you'll be all right,"  
Asuka nodded. Whenever she had been close to him, he had always protected her. That was the way it would always be, and she was definitely grateful of that.  
Asuka and Ranma bother headed down the corridor, making their way toward the gavesite. As they made their way, their progress was impeded by debris blocking their journey. It seems that multiple explosions had occurred simultaneously throughout the entire complex. As Ranma had to deal with moving more and more debris aside, his fears were becoming true. It was obvious the debris had been created to stop him from reach the site on time to stop them.  
It took almost fifteen minutes for Ranma and Asuka to finally make their way to the gavesite. And upon arrive, their fears came true when the saw the dug up gravesite. The covert ops agents were nowhere in site. And it didn't help that they left behind no indication of where they went.  
"Oh man, this is definitely not good," Ranma said, staring at the empty gave.  
"What are we going to do?"  
"Akane, wake everyone up, we are in some serious trouble," Akane heard Ranma's voice on the phoneline.  
"What's wrong?" she asked, now awake. She didn't like the sound of Ranma's tone of voice when he said that.  
"The medical team turned out to be some kinda covert ops team, and they just bombed the hell outta NeoNerv," he answered, "However, that's not what I'm worried about. They managed to get a hold of Adam...I mean my other self and took off. And above that, that means Madigan and Carper might be in trouble since the medical team they were supposed to send was intercepted and this covert ops one replaced them,"  
"W-what?" Akane nearly shouted. However, it was loud enough that Shingi and Rei emerged from their respective room a short moment later, both of them still sleepy.  
"What's wrong, Akane-san?" Shinji asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.  
"Um, n-nothing," she replied. She believed there was no real reason to upset the two children, "You two, go on back to bed,"  
"Something's wrong," Shinji said, waking up, "I know. C'mon, you can tell us,"  
Akane sighed, "Fine. But this is not going to sound pretty. It seems like NeoNerv had just been bombed by our so called medical team. Ranma and Asuka are okay, but the team have made off with the other Ranma and we have no idea where,"  
"Oh my god," he said, "What's going to happen? How will we be able to intercept the Angel if we don't know where the other Ranma is?"  
Akane turned her attention back onto the phone, "Ranma, you go out and look for that damn team. I'll go call the others. Bring Asuka along with you, in case one of the team members stayed behind to prevent you from following,"  
"All right,"

Ranma and Asuka rushed down one of the many debris scattered corridors of NeoNerv. Asuka, although in excellent shape, was finding herself unable to keep up with the shear endurance Ranma is capable of. Her breathing was strained as she ran as hard as she could. And they only managed to get out of NeoNerv so far.  
"Asuka, you don't hafta follow me, just hide somewhere safe, in case any of them stayed behind, or if any of their friends might show up. I can handle it from here," Ranma said, "Let one of the others know of where you are so they can come and getcha,"  
Asuka, her hands on her knees, catching her breath, nodded, "A-all right,"  
"Ya did pretty well keeping up with me like that," he managed a smile.  
"How the hell can you smile at a time like this?" Asuka couldn't believe what she was seeing. They were in serious trouble and Ranma was smiling. What the hell is wrong with this guy?  
"You know what? I have a better idea," he realized something.  
"What?"  
"Go take Unit-01," he said, jerking his thumb at the massive purple robot looming next to NeoNerv, "Since the MAGI is intergrated with the EVA and you already know how to pilot one, it's best you take it out. That way, you won't really have to worry about anything, and you would have an almost bird's eye view of everything, and might be able to spot the group,"  
"Yeah, that's a good idea,"she said. Although she didn't really care all that much about piloting an EVA again, she realized that she didn't need to pilot an EVA, that her life no longer revolved around piloting one.  
"Eva, open up your entry plug," Ranma shouted upward toward Unit-01, "You're gonna let Asuka here pilot you. We need all the help we can get,"  
"Very well," Eva's voice could be heard on the external speaker. The massive robot knelt down on one knee, extending a hand to the ground where Asuka gazed at it cautiously. It took a moment before she realized that she was supposed to step on it so Unit-01 could bring her up to its height so she could enter. But before she did, she glanced at Ranma, seeing him nod for her to go on.  
The entry plug ejected out near the back of the EVA's neck where Asuka gingerly climbed in where it then twisted and slid back down into the spine.  
Inside the cockpit, Asuka immediately felt this overwhelming sense power envolope her, far more powerful than the time she had gone berserk in her own EVA and proceeded to fight those nine white production model EVAs in hand to hand combat.  
The monitor flashed on to show a clear image of Ranma on the ground level looking up directly at her.  
"Everythin' okay?" Ranma asked, his voice coming sound and clear within the cockpit.  
"Fine," she said, looking about. The cockpit looked virtually exactly alike to the EVA she was used to piloting, save for several more components and an easily viewable double self-destruct latch near the base of her seat. "Well, you should know what to do from there," he said, right before turning around and proceeding down the street. For some reason, he had the funny that his other self had been taken in that particular direction. It was as if he could sense where his other self had been taken to.  
"Yeah, good luck, Ranma,"

Hinako and her fellow team members huddled in an old building, keeping close to the shadows to remain undetected. It was around three thirty in the morning, just thirty minutes after the operation had taken full effect. That meant in five minutes, MegoTokyo would be stormed by the Japanese Army. It had taken several weeks to coordinate this plan, and now, it was finally taking place.  
In the far off distance, they could see and also feel the rumbling of Unit-01 as it went about combing the nearby streets.  
"We don't have to be doing this," Hinako said, her hands trembling as she held her fully automatic high powered assult rifle. She had felt more comfortable with a scapel and stethescope than a weapon. "We don't know what the hell we're getting into,"  
"An order's an order," her team captain said, a mid-aged looking man said. He had the face of a gentleman, which definitely helped in concealing his true identity to Ranma and the others, "We were told to retrieve the body and make our way to the randevous point at oh four hundred hours,"  
"C'mon, Hinako, you know the deal, we were to infiltrate their base, gather up all their information without their knowing it, and extract anything of importance that would help the government get MegoTokyo back," a fellow teammate said, "It's our job to do this. You knew everything would eventually come down to this in the end,"  
"But still," Hinako said, "I've been talking to Ranma. And he's told me that they're trying to save all of humanity from a horrible end,"  
"He was bullshittin'," the captain said, "He's a smart fellow, and was probably suspicious and decided to say something like that to make you doubt what you were supposed to do. He probably would've said that even if you had been a real doctor,"  
"I am a doctor!" Hinako said.  
"And so are the rest of us, but this is our real job. That's why the government chose us to do this, because of what we knew and were capable of," he replied.  
"Still..."  
"Look, we've gotta get outta here and fast, this place is going to be overrun with troops in about five minutes and I'm not interested in being caught in a crossfire," another teammate said.  
Hinako sighed. Although she didn't like what she was doing, she knew she was following orders.  
Together, the teams made their way toward the outskirts of the city toward their randevous point.

"Oh man, I can't believe I'm getting into one of these things again," Linna commented, "I haven't worn this hardsuit in years," Eleven years, five months, and ten days to be exact. She, along with the others, had stopped wearing their hardsuits the day after Ranma and Ryoga had saved MegaTokyo from Genom Tower toppling over.  
"Well, we all haven't worn hardsuits in a long time," Syila said. She and the others were gathered about in basement of the Silky Doll, a room they hadn't stepped into over a decade ago. "But you and I both know this is what we have to do. We have to find that convert ops team before the next Angel attacks,"  
"God, I hope the Angel doesn't keep to its pattern," Nene said, concern in her voice, "If it does, then that means it's going to be attacking us shortly after the sun rises. That only gives us a couple of hours to find the other Ranma and get him back,"  
"Quite your bitching and let's get to work," Priss snapped, "Ranma needs our help. And how many times has he helped us out in the past? Helping him out is the least we could do for him after all the shit he's done for us,"  
Sylia managed to crack a smile after she and all the others finally got into their respective hardsuits as she said,  
"It looks like the Knight Sabers are back,"  
"I'm sorry, but I can't do this," Hinako finally said.  
"W-what are you doing?" her team captain said, eyes widening.  
Before any of the team members had a chance to react, Hinako aimed her machine gun into the air and pulled the trigger, sending streams of bullets up into the sky where it could be seen from even miles away. It only took a split second before they all realized what had just happened. Hinako had just given away their location.  
"Why you!" the captain sneered, grabbing Hinako's machine gun and yanking it out of her hands, "What the fuck did you go and do that?"  
"You have no idea how horrible a mistake we're making! I can't let you get away with this!" she snapped back, something she had never done before to her commanding officer. The other team members watched in disbelief that their quiet Hinako was capable of snapping back like that.  
"You do know you're going to be court martialled when we get outta here," he said. It was a statement, not a question. Hinako nodded, "It's worth it if it gives Ranma the chance of stopping us from what we are about to do,"  
The captain turned toward another member, "Kazuya, handcuff her,"  
The young man nodded hesitantly, but did as he was told.  
"We're making a mistake. Ranma and the others are trying to help us," Hinako pleaded.  
"That's enough!" the captain said, striking Hinako with the back of his hand. When he realized what he had done, he looked down at his hand and then back at Hinako. She looked back at him, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. The captain's visage showed that of remorse for a split second before he steeled himself and walked away, muttering to himself, "W-what have I become?"  
"This isn't right," Hinako said, "Just talk to Ranma, he'll explain everything!"  
At the moment, Ranma came running around the corner. He skidded to a halt when he caught sight of Hinako and the team. Without saying another word, he raised a hand up toward the sky and let loose a massive ki-  
blast, something much easier to see than a short stream of bullets.  
"Give him back to us!" Ranma said, pointing toward the casket that sat on top of a hovering platform that the team was using for easy transport.  
Withon saying a word, the captain crouched down and aimed his machine gun toward Ranma and let loose a barrage of bullets. However, the bullets missed their target as Ranma strafed toward the right in a wide circular arc, the bullets striking the area had stepped on just a split second before.  
Pretty soon, everyone, save Hinako, aimed their guns toward Ranma and fired.  
Ranma continued to dodge, weaving in an out of the stream of gunfire, resorting to actually slapping several bullets away in the process.  
"How the fuck can we not hit him?" a member said, the same member that had handcuffed Hinako. He was an expert marksman and can't even come close to hitting his target.  
"Kazuya, take the casket and get the hell outta here. Meet us at our second randevous point," the captain said, not once stopping his gunfire toward Ranma, "We'll hold him off,"  
Ranma continued to dodge but was getting extremely frustrated at not being able to get close to the team. His frustration grew as he realized one of the team members were trying to move the casket while the others provided cover fire.  
"That's it! No more!" Ranma sneered as he quickly dug a hand right into a nearby stone building as he ran by it and ripped out a brick. As he continued to strafe, he threw the brick at what seemed like the team leader, the brick missing him by inches as he managed to duck out of the way at the last second.  
"Damnit!" he muttered to himself, "I missed," He had to respect that man for actually being able to have dodge on of his projectiles. But then again, they were trained professionals.  
Ranma took a deep breath. He knew that the bullets would continue to fly toward him because while one member provided cover fire, the others would reload. Knowing he would lose track of the casket if he took too much time, Ranma ran straight toward the team, his arms crossed over the front of his body.  
"Jeez, talk about suicidal," the captain said, realizing his target was charging straight toward him. He pulled the trigger and a stream of bullets shot from his machine gun straight toward Ranma. His eyes widened as the bullets struck their target perfectly yet the target didn't fall. He saw tiny red ripples forming in front of Ranma just inches from his body.  
"W-w-what the fuck?" a member said, also firing at Ranma and realizing his bullets weren't effecting him, also seeing that red rippling effect.  
Ranma gritted his teeth through the pain as bullets seemed to bounce off his body. Although they didn't actually strike him, he could still feel the sharp pain each one administered. He was just glad his AT field protected him well enough that the bullets wouldn't be able to bring him to his knees from the pain.  
As the team continued to open fire, Ranma ran up to the nearest member, the captain, and did a quick roundhouse kick toward the man's leg. The man seemed to flip bodily one hundred and eighty degrees in the air before falling down on his side, hard. He was knocked unconsious.  
Ranma realized that the barrge of bullets stopped since no one wanted to risk hitting the unconsious captain, and quickly seized the moment, not heistating for a second. He picked up the unconsious captain's body and threw him toward two nearby members that were standing near each other, sending them both sprawling to the ground unconsious.  
He quickly jumped up into the air as a stream of bullets were let loose again. Afterall, he had used his only shield as a weapon. Since no one was near him, the team had opened fire. While in mid air, Ranma shot a ki-blast directly down toward the ground below him. When the blast hit, shrapnel shot everywhere, striking everyone and knocking them unconsious.  
Landing swiftly and silently on his feet, Ranma surveyed his surroundings. Everyone was unconsious. He looked toward the right and lying near the middle of the street was Hinako. She was on her side, her back toward him, her handcuffed arms clearly visible from where Ranma was.  
"Oh shit!" he muttered. An innocent vicitim had been caught in the blast. He quickly rushed over to Hinako. He knew that she was the one to have shot those bullets into the air. Through simple deduction, Ranma knew that she must had been handcuffed by one of the members for fear that she would do something like that again.  
Ranma gently turned Hinako toward the side and looked down at her, "A-  
are you all right?"  
Hinako slowly opened up her eyes and looked up at Ranma, "I-I'm sorry. I-I should h-have told you," Slowly, a puddle of blood was forming around her. Ranma looked down and noticed a bullet wound in her leg. It seems a stray bullet had struck her.  
"Don't talk, help is on the way," he said softly, using the front of his shirt to wipe the sweat from Hinako's brow. She was sweating profusely.  
"I couldn't do it," she said softly, "I couldn't allow them to take him away. What we did was wrong,"  
Ranma placed a hand near Hinako's leg. A moment later, his hand started to glow as his ki flowed from his fingertips and into Hinako's leg, alleviating most of the pain. As did this, Hinako's eyes widened as she felt this intense aura of power emanating from Ranma and into her leg.  
"There, the pain should be gone," he said. He quickly took off his belt. Actually, it was more like a rope he used for a belt.  
"W-what a-are you doing?" Hinako's eyes widened. Although she felt light-headed from the pain she had been in before, and that experience with Ranma using his ki on her, the sight before her make her heart skip. Ranma looked like he was going to take off his pants.  
Ranma crouched toward by her and swiftly tied his belt around Hinako's leg, Hinako giving out a little yelp of pain when he administered the pressure, "There, that should stop the bleeding. The others will be here in a short while,"  
"W-what about the others?" Hinako asked, gesturing toward her unconsious team members.  
"They're all right. They're just gonna wake up with a nasty headache," he smiled slightly.  
Ranma looked up and realized that the casket was long gone, "Shit, I lost track of it,"  
"You mean of the casket?" she asked.  
He nodded.  
"Don't worry," she couldn't help but smile, "Kazuya's taking it toward our second randevous point. That's the abanndonned wearhouse on Ypsilon Avenue,"  
Ranma grinned, "Thank you,"  
At the moment, dressed in hardsuits, Sylia and the others landed on the streets after hovered down from a nearby building.  
"We saw you're signal," Sylia's voice emanated. She looked around at the unconsious bodies. She knew it was Ranma's doing. Ranma is probably the only person she kenw that could stop a team of well trained professionals without killing them.  
"Hinako's hurt," Ranma said, getting back to his feet, "You hafta get something to treat her wound,"  
Everyone seemed to hesitate.  
"She's the one that gave away her team's location," he said, "If it weren't for her, everyone woulda been long gone by now,"  
"Yeah, well, if it weren't for her, we wouldn't be in this mess," Priss commented.  
"I guess I deserved that," Hinako said softly. "Don't worry, we all make mistakes," Ranma said, "Well, I better get going now. I hafta intercept Adam before anyone else, especially an Angel, does,"  
With that said, Ranma darted off down the street, disappearing around a corner.  
Linna looked at Sylia and asked, "Did I hear Ranma calling his other self Adam?"  
"I think so," Sylia answered. Since when did Ranma consider and also called his otherself Adam?  
Nene walked over to Hinako and knelt down next to her, "Don't worry, we'll have you fixed in no time,"  
Hinako looked up at Nene. Since Nene and the others are in their hardsuits, Hinako had no idea who or what they are. "Who are you people?"  
Ranma smiled as he gazed down from the top of the building. Standing in the shadows on thst streets down below was one of the team members, Kazuya as Hinako had called him, waiting patiently for his extraction. Right next to him was the hovering casket.  
In the far off distance, sounds of carnage could be heard as Unit-01 was going about fighting off all of the army and navy's attack. Asuka must be having a ball, Ranma thought. The thought of being able to control Unit-01 and its immense power would be quite exciting to the red-haird girl.  
Figuring he should get everything done and over with, Ranma dove off the building and landed quietly in the middle of the street over ten stories below.  
"Oh shit!" Kazuya muttered as he caught of Ranma. He silently prayed that Ranma would not see him hiding in the shadows, but he knew that was not possible. Besides, if Ranma hadn't seen him, then he would have easily have heard him.  
Ranma placed a hand on his hip and looked directly at the soldier, "All right, are you gonna give me Adam the easy way or the hard way?" He was tapping his foot to indicate his impatience. In his other hand, he was casually throwing a rock up and down.  
Kazuya raised his machine gun but it was struck from his hands by a well thrown rock. When he reached for his hand gun, Ranma darted forward and landed kicked at of Kazuya's legs. The man ended up flipping clockwise bodily ninety degrees, slamming down into the ground unconsious.  
Ranma knew the man had been simply knocked out, that he would only suffer a few bruises when he came to. He walked over to where the man lay and picked up the walkie talkie on strapped on his utility belt.  
Picking up the walkie talking, Ranma pressed a button and said, "My name's Ranma. To whoever is listening to this, your plan has just failed. I suggest you come in and get your men outta here because I have a whole lot more crap to worry about than the welfare of your men,"  
With that said, Ranma dropped the walkie talkie, heading back toward NeoNerv Headquarters, casket in tow.

Ranma looked at the Knight Sabers standing before him. He and everyone else where gathered in front of NeoNerv, shortly after Ranma had placed the casket back in its rightful place, under the facility. He smirked, "You guys still look good in those suits,"  
Priss, whom had the visor of her helmet up, smiled slightly and said, "Well, it's just too bad we never got the chance to try them out,"  
"Yeah, who would have thought that you manage to get the job done in recovering the casket before we even managed to get changed into our suits and out into the action," Linna said. She turned her attention toward Shinji, whom seemed to be staring at her and the other Knight Sabers, "Yes?"  
"Um, n-nothing," he said meekly, "It's just that I'm surprised to find something like this out. I never believed you and the others have some kinda secret identity,"  
Priss narrowed her eyes at the young boy, "What, you think we're just some average run-of-the-mill females you see everywhere?" She couldn't help but smile. It kind of felt nice to be in those hardsuits again. It brought back memories.  
"Um, w-well, no. O-of course not," Shinji stammered, trying to say anything, blushing slightly.

"Well, I'm on my way," Ranma said.  
"I hope Madigan and Carper and Jun are okay," Ritsuko commented. Everyone was gathered in front of Ranma's house. It was early morning, the very next day after the army's failed attempt to aquire Adam. The army had come in and retrieved their comrades and left without incident. Nothing had been heard from them since.  
"They better be," he said. The wings on his back extended to their full length as Ranma jumped up into the air, taking to the skies. As he hovered in the air about twenty feet above everyone, he said, "Don't worry about me, I'll be back in a day or so,"  
He then shot off toward the north, toward Hokkaido, hopeful that he would be able to find Madigan and Carper and Jun safe and sound. If he didn't find them, he was going to pay the nearest army base a visit and do some damage until they told him of their whereabouts.  
Ranma hovered above the house Madigan had told Ranma where she was going to be. It was very dark out, probably sometime around midnight. It had taken more than half the day for Ranma to reach Hokkaido.  
As he hovered above the house, he noticed the house was built on top of a steep hill, only one road leading up to it, and a steep road it was. Taking a closer look, Ranma noticed that none of the lights were on. He swooped down for a closer look. Coming up to a window, Ranma peered in and noticed that the house was completely empty.  
From a couple hundred meters away, hidding in the trees, a soldier talked into his communicator, which was basically a pair of ear phones with a tiny microphone hanging forward and over the mouth.  
"I have someone in my sight," the man said, "He looks to be one of the guys that attacked our bases. Even though you told me about it, I still can't believe it, even though I'm looking at it myself through my scope. This guy looks like he has some kinda angel-like wings. What should I do?"  
"Just keep tabs on him," came the reply through the communicator, "If you lose sight of him, the other shooters should be able to see him. The house is completely surrounded. If this is the guy that attacked us, then we don't want any conflict,"  
"I can pick him off from here, sir," the man said, "He's in my sights. Just give me the signal,"  
"No. That's an order. Just keep tabs on him,"  
"Yes, sir," the man said. The man continue to watch until he saw something that scared the hell out of him. He caught sight of Ranma as Ranma flew toward a tree, a tree where one of his comrades had used for sniping. A moment after that, he saw Ranma picking the guy up by his collar and say something to him.  
"Sir, he's got Akito," the man said, "Permission to fire, sir,"  
"Do not. I repeat. Do not. You might hit Akito,"  
"Damnit,"  
"Where are the occupants of that house?" Ranma asked the helpless man named Akito.  
"I don't know," Akito replied. He was shitting brick. Below him was a three hundred foot drop. And what was even more disturbing was that he was being held by a man with wings hovering in the air.  
"I'll drop you then," Ranma smirked.  
"P-p-please, d-don't!" the man pleaded.  
"Then tell me where they're being held..."  
Then man told him.

Ranma was pissed off as he entered the army base. He had barrage after barrage of attacks from the ground and air as he made his way toward the base. Luckily, the base had been located near the house so it only took him fiften or so minutes of flying to get there, but there had been quite a resistance to stop his attempted rescue of his friends.  
He had just about lost it when a tank shell had hit him in the chest while he had been hovering over the base. Sure, the AT field protected him, but it hadn't when he hit the ground two hundred feet below him at the time. He had ripped the tank apart with his bare hands to vent his frustrations, the soldiers manning the tank running for their lives when the entire turret was ripped off the tank's base.  
Ranma entered the brig where his three friends were being held. It basically looked like a prison, right down to the steel bars. When he entered the room just outside the holding cell, three soldier caught sight of him and pulled out their handguns and pointed.  
"Put your goddamn guns down!" Ranma snapped, "I was just hit by a tank shell and I'm not happy!"  
"Drop to the floor, now!" one of the soldiers shouted defiantly.  
"Uncle Ranma!" Jun said happily, running toward the edge of the cell.  
"Hey, Jun, I came to get you and your mom and dad out, I'll be with you in a second," Ranma said with a smile. He then turned toward the three soldiers and said in a very slow voice, "Put your weapons down,"  
The soldiers hesitated.  
"I'm here to get my friends. Step aside so I can free 'em. If you do anything, anything, you're gonna regret it," he said seriously.  
"Sir, what should we do?" the soldier turned toward another soldier, most likely his superior.  
Ranma walked past the three soldiers and up to the holding cell. Madigan and Carper looked estatic to see him.  
He calmly asked them to step back as he reached out and bent the inch thick solid steel bares with his bare hands. When he did this, he could hear the sounds of the three soldiers running away, obviously frightened by what they had just saw.  
Jun happily jumped into Ranma's arms, Ranma embracing her gently.  
"I missed you so much," Jun said, wrapping her arms around Ranma's neck, nearly choking him.  
Madigan and Carper smiled in relief. Sure, they had only been finally taken into custody two days ago, but it was good to be free again.  
"What took you so long?" they asked in unison.

Ranma hugged Jun one last time. He and the others were back at Madigan's house. He didn't care if the other snipers were still nearby. "Are you sure they're not going to bother us?" Madigan asked skeptically. "Not if they know what's good for them," he said with a smirk. Sure, they would be in Hokkaido while he would hundreds and hundreds of miles away, but the distance won't keep him from keeping in contact with them.  
"What did you do?" Carper asked.  
"I told the general at the base that if he doesn't want any more of his bases attacked, then he'd better leave you three alone, and leave us alone so we can do our job,"  
Madigan and Carper looked at each other. Madigan smiled as she turned toward Ranma, "Sounds good to me,"  
"Well, now that we're safe, I can get back to fightin' those Angels," Ranma said.  
Curiously, Carper asked, "Speaking of which, how's it along it?"  
Ranma sighed, "Not all that great. We've managed to repel them, but just barely. We're barely beating them every single time. If they get any more harder than they are now, then we're gonna be in trouble. However, I don't wanna think of that right now,"  
"Well, I know you'll do fine," Madigan encouraged him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "You always seem to come through in the end. This won't be any different. I know it,"  
Ranma smiled, "Thanks,"

"We have confirmation. Pattern blue," Linna said. Like clockwork, it has been two weeks since the last Angel had attacked. Ranma and the others were already in position, standing on the tallest building in MegaTokyo, awaiting orders. Unit-01 was also standing right next to the building, ready for its second sorty.  
"Ranma, Just send in Unit-01," Misato said, "There's no real need to get your hands dirty or worry about risking your life if you can have the EVA doing it for us,"  
"Yeah, but like I said, I promised everyone I would bring her back," Ranma said, "And I have no intention of breaking that promise,"  
"C'mon, I'm in charge here," Misato said, "Just listen to me, there is no need to risk your life anymore fighting the Angels. Just keep away and have Unit-01 pick it off,"  
He said nothing. Misato did have a point. "Yeah, but how the heck do ya expect to fix it if it gets broken?"  
"This is an Evangelion we're talking about, Ranma!" Misato found herself almost shouting, "It's got an automatic AT field that's probably ten times more powerful than yours and Rei's combined,"  
"Still," Ranma said skeptically.  
"If you really want to fight, they why don't you provide cover fire for Unit-  
01 as she does her job?" Misato said.  
"How do you suppose I do that?"  
"That's easy," she replied, wishing Ranma was there to see her smile, "Since Unit-01 has no weapons, she'll have to fight the Angel in unarmed combat. All you'll hafta do is get the Angel close enough for Unit-01 to do her job,"  
Ranma thought about it for a moment, "Well I guess I could do that,"  
Lime, whom had been quiet like the others, said, "Look, we all know how powerful Unit-01 is. Having it on our side will help us greatly. Worrying about it being damaged and such will only make it a hinder, not a help. You shouldn't worry about it like that,"  
"I know," Ranma said, "But I don't want Unit-01 to be badly damaged or such. I promised everyone I'd have her back in one piece,"  
"Thank goodness, he didn't say he'd have it back as good as new," Herb commented with a smirk.  
"Quit your babbling, guys," came Misato's voice into their communicators, "The Angel's gonna be here any second. It's coming toward your location at high speeds from the north. Expected time of interception in forty seconds. Okay, here's what I want you guys to do. Herb, you and provide cover fire for Ranma. If the Angel manage to get its hands on Ranma, use your projectiles to distract it and get it to follow you. Otherwise, let Ranma get the Angel to follow him. Mint, Lime, Taro, the three of you will get back here to NeoNerve, just in case the Angel doesn't chase after Herb or Ranma,"  
"Roger," everyone said in unison.  
Ranma and Herb darted off toward the north to intercept the Angel while Taro, Lime, and Mint jumped off the building and made their way through the city and toward NeoNerv. Unit-01 stayed in place.  
Ranma and Herb made it to the Angel in no time. Without warning, Ranma launched a massive ki-blast in the Angel's general direction, missing it on purpose, but obviously catching its attention.  
The Angel, however, stood in place and proceeded to throw ki-blasts in Ranma's direction.  
"Shit, why don't they ever do as you want 'em to," Ranma muttered as he dodged ki-blast after ki-blast. It was obvious the Angel wasn't attempting to follow after Ranma but rather pick him off from the distance.  
"Fine, stay were you are, Unit-01's on its way," came Misato's voice.  
Ranma and Herb continued to distract the Angel, throwing ki-blast after ki-  
blast at it, missing it. They continued to do this for several long minutes before the battle changed hands completely in a split second.  
Just as Ranma had been about to ask where the heck Unit-01 could be, it appeared from below the ground, a massive arm darting upward and grabbing the Angel from below.  
"All right!" Ranma and Herb cheered.  
They both hovered in air and watched as Unit-01 closed its grip on the Angel, using on hand to crush its skeletal system and the other free hand to press down on its head, snapping the neck.  
"Jeez, that's one horrible way to die," Ranma commented, cringing as he heard the neck snapping from where he hovered, which was about a hundred meters away.  
"I agree," Herb said.  
"Ewww," Ranma almost turned his head when he saw Unit-01 use both its hands and began rubbing them together as if warming them, the hapless Angel between them. All that could be seen were the blood as it seeped from Unit-01's fingers and palm.  
When the Eva opened its hands again, nothing remain but a red blot on its palms.  
"Correction, that's one horrible way to die," Ranma muttered, feeling queasy.

At around three in the morning, in Ranma's house, Asuka had decided to take it upon herself to head downstairs to the kitchen for a snack. Clad in her nightgown, she quietly made her way toward the kitchen, careful not to awaken Mint and Lime, the two of them sleeping peacefully in the livingroom. Taro and Herb were at NeoNerv, lookouts for the night.  
As she passed by their sleeping figure, she gazed down at them for a moment. She couldn't help but admire the dedication the two of them as well as Herb and Taro had to continue on fighting despite the unbelieveable odds stacked against them.  
Grateful to have people like them around, she smiled before heading for the kitchen for something to eat.  
Upon entering the kitchen, she was momentarily caught off guard when she noticed that it was currently occupied. Ranma, clad in a tank top and shorts, was looking in fridge.  
"Oh, Ranma," Asuka said, a bit surprised.  
Ranma looked up and noticed Asuka, "Oh, hey, Asuka. What's up?"  
"It's three in the morning, y'know," she said.  
"I know," he replied, continuing on looking for food, "I was just hungry and wanted to get something to eat," He pulled out a bunch of cold cuts and headed over to the table and sat down, "You hungry also?"  
Asuka nodded.  
"I'm gonna make a sandwich. Ya want one?"  
She thought about it for a moment before saying, "I guess," At first, she would had declined solely because it was Ranma offering, but times had changed. There was no real reason to continue to hold animosity toward him, especially after the countless times he had helped her out.  
She sat down next to Ranma and watched as he prepared a sandwich for her and then himself, taking full note that he made a sandwich for her first.  
She gazed at him for a moment when he took a huge bite into his sandwich, nearly devouring it with a single bite. As he continued to eat, Asuka noticed the awkward silence.  
"Um, h-how's your back?" she asked.  
"What about it?" he looked back curiously.  
"Y'know, when you caught all those falling beams back then," she replied, taking a nibble of her sandwich.  
He shrugged his shoulders, "It's fine. A bit sore, but other than that, I'm fine,"  
"Um, that's good to hear," she commented softly. Taking a bite into her sandwich, she asked, "Are you worried about the upcoming battle with the next Angel?"  
Ranma nodded, "Yeah,"  
"Really?" she was a bit surprised, "I never figured you'd be the type to worry,"  
"Well, it's different this time around," he said, his voice soft, "I'm going to be very relieved once this is done and over with,"  
Silence ensued again.  
It was broken when Ranma, deciding to change the subject, said, "Hey, isn't that nightgown a bit flimsy? I mean, I can see right through it, y'know,"  
Asuka blushed a horrible shade of red. It didn't help matters any bit when Ranma tried to ease her embarrassment by saying, "Don't worry, it's not like I haven't seen you naked before,"  
Blushing even more red, Asuka shouted, "Ranma!" Her arms quickly came up in front over her, covering the flimsy fabric that was supposed to cover her breasts.  
Ranma took a bite of his sandwich again, finishing it. He got up off his seat and headed for the door, "Well, I'm gonna goto sleep now. Good night,"  
It wasn't until several moments later did Asuka realize Ranma had just left the room.

Sylia read the text on the computer screen. About a week and a half had passed since the last Angel attack. Everyone had gone about their usual business, the guys continuing to train while the others went about finding other ways to upgrade NeoNerv or keep everything in running sufficiently.  
"Could that be the Spear of Longinus that Misato and Ritsuko and Ranma mentioned?" she asked herself. She remembered Ranma commenting on how this world and the other world were similar in some parts and different in others. Since there were existing items found on that world that was found on this one, like the nanban mirror, she surmised that there could be a chance the Spear of Longinus existed on this world also.  
She looked at the image of the Spear on the monitor. It didn't look at all like the Spear Ranma had used on the other world. She remembered Ranma mentioning that he had Unit-01 throw the Spear like a javaline at an Angel. If the Eva were to be used to launch something like the Spear, then the Spear would had to have been massive in size. The image before here, however, looked to be no longer than a human is tall.  
"That can't be the same Spear, can it?" she asked herself. She reread the summary of the Spears origin and it definitely matched the one Ritsuko and told her.  
"Even though we have Unit-01 on the team, it never hurts to have more help. This Spear of Longinus should help us greatly,"  
"Well, it couldn't hurt to find out if it's the same one or not," Ranma said. He and the others had just been told about the existence of the Spear of Longinus on this world and its whereabouts. "It's just unfortunate that I hafta go all the way to Italy to find the Spear," Ranma sighed, "That's gonna take quite a toll on me. I hate having to fly for so long,"  
"Well, if it really is the same kind of Spear of Longinus that was on the other world, then it would help us greatly," Sylia commented, "It's worth a try. Sure, having Unit-01 around helps us greatly, but you could never have too much help, especially against these Angels,"  
"I guess you're right," Ranma shrugged his shoulders. He looked around, "So, who wants to volunteer in getting it?"  
"Why don't you go get it?" Taro asked, eyes narrowing, "You seem to have more experience handling this so-called Spear of Longinus than any of us,"  
"But it's all the way in Italy," Ranma commented, "That's damn far away. I dunno if I can travel that far,"  
"Quite being such a girl," Taro muttered.  
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" all the females asked at once.  
All the guys quickly turned their attention elsewhere, away from Taro. They didn't want to watch. Taro was a dead man.

"Hmph, that's bull," Ranma muttered to himself as he dart through the skies, "Taro was faking unconiousness so he wouldn't hafta go to Italy to fetch the Spear...hm, but then again, the girls might've hit him that hard that they actually did knock him out,"  
Ranma was getting tired. He had been travelling for the past ten hours and he wasn't even halfway to Italy. He had a long way to go.

"We have a pattern blue," Nene called out to everyone.  
"But Ranma's not back yet," Priss commented.  
Taro and the other males looked at each other. Misato turned toward the males and said, "Okay, you guys know what to do. This time, you're going to have to repel the Angel without Ranma's help,"  
"That'll be no problem," Taro smirked. It seems his wounds had finally healed after the girls had wiped the floor with him.  
"This isn't pissing contest, Taro" Misato snapped, "Not having Ranma here will only make it harder for us to defeat the Angel,"  
"But we have-" Herb began.  
"Just because we have Unit-01 doesn't mean we should get cocky," Ritsuko interrupted, "It'll help us out greatly, but not completely. You guys still have to help defeat the Angel. Unit-01 can only do so much in terms of helping you guys out,"  
Herb and the others didn't say a word. That was true what Ritsuko said.  
A short time passed. Herb, Taro, Lime, and Mint were gathered on MegaTokyo's tallest building, Unit-01 standing next to it.  
"All right, guys, here's what I want you to do," Misato's voice came through the communicator, "Taro, you go out and get the Angel's attention. Get it to follow you, and hopefully right into Unit-01's eager hands. Herb, you and Unit-  
01 will team together. I've got a funny feeling that this Angel won't go as easily as the last one. With every succeeding Angel, they get smarter and adapt to our tactics. When Unit-01 has its hands on it, you're going to have to finish it off,"  
"What about us?" Lime and Mint asked in unison.  
"You two stay on Unit-01's shoulders," Misato said, "We don't know if we're going to be able to finish this Angel off using Herb's ki-blasts or not. That's where you two will come in,"  
"Okay," they both said together.  
"Good luck, guys,"

Ranma looked up at the Spear of Longinus as it was being displayed in the glass case located in the middle of the massive room. It had taken him what seemed like forever to get down to Italy and to the museum where the Spear was on display.  
"Damn, it looks nothing like the one I used on the other world," Ranma commented. He regarded the Spear for several moments, noting its small size mostly. It basically looked like the Spear he had used except it was extremely small, roughly as long as he was tall. After a moment, he shrugged his shoulders and gave the glass a quick punch. The inch thick glass shattered into thousands of pieces, the noise alerting everyone.  
Ranma ignored everyone as he reached out and grabbed hold of the Spear. The moment his hands touched the Spear, he felt this extremely weird feeling flow through him. It was a feeling of loss and vulnerability. Whatever the feeling was, it was something he didn't like. However, it was something he would worry about later. Right now, he had to get back home. There was probably an Angel attack by now.  
Spear in hand, Ranma headed toward the museum exit but was stopped by several armed security guards. Three of them pointed their guns toward him.  
"Put the relic down gently or we'll be forced to open fire!" one of the guards said.  
Ranma ignored the guards and headed toward them since they were blocking his path toward the exit. What happened next caught Ranma off-guard.  
One of the guards fired his gun, hitting Ranma in the chest. The moment it had struck him, he had twisted so that the bullet only glanced him. However, when he looked down, he noticed a small trail of blood trickling down his chest, staining his shirt.  
"What the?" Ranma was shocked. He had been strucked by bullets before but had never bled. His AT field always protected him. What gives?  
"Oh shit!" Ranma's eyes widened as he realized something. The Spear seemed to negate his innate AT field. That meant it would hurt like hell if he got shot, not the usual stinging sensation he got.  
The sense of worry lasted a split second before Ranma realized that all he'd have to do is release his hold of the Spear. Upon doing so, he felt this invisible protective barrier envolope him.  
Ranma quickly incapacitated the three guards with well placed attacks, a bit happy when he realized that he didn't even need his AT field. It wasn't as if he needed an AT field anyway.  
Smiling, Ranma picked the Spear back up and headed out the door.

"The Angel isn't going to fall for our trick," Herb commented. He noticed that the Angel seemed to keep constant tabs on Unit-01's location and keep its distance, all the while shooting energy blasts at Herb and Taro.  
"What should we do?" Lime asked. He and Mint were on Unit-01's shoulders.  
"Have it at least follow you to GeoFront," Misato's voice came in, "That way, because GeoFront is a confined area, it'll be easier for Unit-01 to get her hands on the Angel,"  
"But what if-" Mint began.  
"I know," Misato interrupted, "It's quite a risk, but at at this rate, the Angel will probably get one of you when you start to tire. We have to get rid of the Angel as soon as possible. There's only so much that you can dodge before you start to tire...and when you're tired, you're bound to make a mistake, something we can't afford happening,"  
"I hope you know what you're doing," Herb said.  
"I don't know what I'm doing," came Misato's voice, "But considering the situation we're in, it's the best chance we have at defeating the Angel,"  
Just as Misato finished her sentence, a massive explosion erupted against Unit-01's chest when the Angel's energy blast hit it.  
The blast had been so powerful Unit-01 had been thrown off its feet and onto its back, sliding to a halt after crashing through several building. Luckily, Lime and Mint had managed to land safely away from the falling Unit-01 before it had a chance to crush them.  
They both shook the cobwebs from their head and looked up into the sky where they saw projectiles flying back and forth. Mint and Lime were useless from where they were.  
As the looked up, a large eruption exploded high above them. A moment after that, Herb crashed into the ground a dozen meters away from them. Quickly, the two of them rushed to Herb's side as he slowly got up to his feet, disoriented.  
"Herb-sama, are you all right?" Mint asked.  
"I-I'm f-fine," Herb said weakly, his legs a bit wobbly. He couldn't believe he had taken that energy blast directly in the chest. At the moment, only the pain coursing through his body was keeping him consious. He was having trouble standing.  
Just as Herb managed to orient himself with where he was, Taro came crashing into the ground next to him, his massive body becoming embedded in it by several feet. "Ow, that r-really hurt," Taro said weakly, looking up into the sky where he could see the Angel hovering high above.  
Just as he got back up to his feet, Lime shoulder rammed him, propelling the two of them several meters away from the crater just as a massive energy blast incinerated it.  
Winded, Taro got to his feet, "T-thanks,"  
"We're sitting ducks down here!" Mint said, wishing he had some kind of projectile blast to fight back. The only person there with projectiles was Herb and Herb was currently disoriented.  
In the control room, Misato was getting a migraine trying to come up with a plan of action. It was as if the Angel was preventing the group from getting underground.  
Slowly getting to his feet, in a daze, Herb looked up and saw the blurry image of the Angel. To him, it looked like a speck way up there. Shaking the cobwebs from this head, Herb pointed both of his hands up into the air and shot out a massive column of ki. The buildings in his immediate area crummbled from the shockwave being created from the extreme release of energy.  
The column of ki travelled upward at an intense speed, enveloping the Angel from below. Unfortunately, the Angel seemed only moderately hurt when the blast subsided, Herb falling to the floor, utterly exhausted.  
"Herb-sama!" Mint rushed toward his side.  
"Get away!" Herb shouted, pushing Mint away just as a energy blast came raining down on top of him. It was unfortunate that Herb was unable to jump out of the way himself for he was enveloped in the explosion.

fix neonerv  
Herb dies saving Lime and Mint

Lime and Mint takes Herb back home with them

Taro dies saving Ranma

Ranma fights lone Angel one on one

Ranma finds out myth behind spear

Spear is sent into orbit

Angel defeated by Ranma has core

Ranma and the Angel stood face to face. Standing before the Angel was humanity's final hope for survival. Everything rested on Ranma's shoulders. If he lost, humanity will no longer exist.  
The two individuals sized each other up. Although Ranma had gotten much better in terms of his fighting skills and strength over the months of training, he knew this was going to be the hardest battle of his life, because he was all alone with no one to help him.  
Everyone in the control room watched the monitor anxiously, never blinking. Unable to stand the tangible tension between them, Ranma charged toward the Angel, intent on punching a hole right through the Angel's head. Unfortunately, the Angel's reflexes were beyond comprehension as it raised a hand and shot an energy blast right at Ranma's chest.  
Luckily, Ranma's reflexes were equally as quick as he managed to sidestep the energy blast at the very last moment. The blast, having nothing to impede its path, flew straight through the entire slums, destroying every building standing in its path before arcing up toward the sky several miles away from the battlefield.  
Ranma took a moment to catch his breath. That had been a close one. One second later and he would had had a hole in his chest. The Angel shot another energy blast at Ranma, seeing that he had been momentarily distracted.  
Unable to react quick enough, Ranma had been forced to deflect the energy blast with his forearm, sending the sphere of energy hurtling high up toward the heavens. Although Ranma managed to deflect it, the energy blast did considerable damage, giving Ranma burns along the length of his right forearm.  
Ranma gritted his teeth as he fought back the burning pain surging throughout his whole arm.  
I have to get close, Ranma thought. I have to fight close enough so the Angel can't use those damn energy blasts.  
"It's a wonder how you managed to defeat my brethren," the Angel commented with a smirk.  
"You're gonna end up just like 'em, I promise," Ranma sneered. Without hesitating, Ranma charged the Angel again, only to be forced to jump away as the Angel let loose a barrage of energy blasts, forcing Ranma to do somersaults through the air as he dodged and weaved out of the projectiles path.  
"Fine, you wanna play like that?" Ranma shouted, fuming, "I'll play like that!"  
He cupped his hands and brought them down toward his right hip, pivoting slightly. A moment later, a brilliant light shone from between his fingertips as Ranma gathered up tremendous amounts of ki.  
"Seppukku Mokou Takabisha!" came Ranma's shout as he entended his hands forward and released a massive column of pure energy directly at the Angel.  
"W-why the hell is he using that? He's going to die in the process!" Misato shouted as she gazed from within the control room. She had heard stories about Ranma's seppukku blast, that it could easily destroy an entire city. He must be crazy to attempt something like this!  
The Angel easily sidestepped Ranma's ki-blast but immediately became engulf as Ranma pivoted slightly so that the continuous column of energy was directed once again at the Angel.  
"Die!" Ranma shouted as he let loose all his ki reserves. For a split second, the amount of energy Ranma released rivalled that of the ki-blast Ranma had released a while back, when he and Herb and Saffron were trying to see who had the most powerful projectile. It was only for a split second for Ranma held the blast constant for over a split second, the amounts of energy Ranma releasing reaching exponential limits over his previous blast.  
The miles of slums in front of Ranma simply disintergrated under such intense power. As the column of energy travelled over the water massive body of water that seperated the slums from the rest of MegaTokyo, it immediately turned into steam, not even having enough time to boil.  
The blast continued onward before arcing up into the air where it would probably reach well beyond the stratosphere, but not before everything in its path was destroyed. In the second Ranma had shot that ki-blast, more than eighty percent of the slums was totally disintegrated. The only parts that remained were the slums behind Ranma.  
Ranma quickly fell to his knees, spent and well beyond exhastion. His heart was racing so rapidly that it threatend to burst if he didn't calm down. His whole body felt like it was on fire from having channelled such energy. A moment later, Ranma coughed up some blood. He had pushed his body well beyond its limit and he was now paying the price.  
"Ranma!" Misato shouted as she looked at the screen in disbelief, "Lookout!"  
Using the last of his remaining energy, Ranma managed to slowly raise his head and look up, too exhausted to even wipe the blood trickling down from his chin and onto the devestated ground.  
Standing before him was the Angel, smirking.  
"Is that all?" the Angel said.  
"H-h-how..." Ranma managed to say weakly. He was so sure nothing would be able to survive something as powerful as his seppukku blast. Nothing. But it seems he was wrong because it was obvious that the Angel wasn't hurt.  
The Angel smiled and said, "C'mon Tabris, you should be smarter than that. You know that every Angel you fought had one strong point and one weakness. As you can tell, my weakness was my inability to fly. However, I guess you're learning too late that my strong point is my ability to brush off those pathetic ki-blasts you constantly use,"  
Ranma stared up at the Angel in disbelief. This was impossible.  
The Angel reached a hand forward and grabbed Ranma by the top of his head, picking him up by his hair. Ranma didn't even bother to yelp out in pain or struggle against the Angel as his feet left the ground.  
"I have a little surprise for you," the Angel said, "You may not know this, but there is a myth behind the Spear of Longinus that you use,"  
Unable to move, Ranma could do nothing but listen.  
"You have been destined to die a tragic fate ever since you laid your hands on the Spear," the Angel continued, seemingly enjoying the moment, "And by that, I will become your fate. You will die by my own doing,"  
"N-not if I-I can do something about it," Ranma managed to say weakly.  
The Angel smirked and used his free hand to punch Ranma in his side, breaking several ribs in the process. All Ranma could do was yelp out in pain.  
"And just how do you expect to stop me?" the Angel taunted Ranma.  
"I-I'll kill you," Ranma sneered, "I'll find a-a way to stop you,"  
The Angel smiled, "And how do you suppose you do that? You're going to be dead," The Angel extended its free hand outward as a brilliant light emanated from its fingertips. After a few moments, it said, "You remember how you lost the Spear killing one of my brethren? Well, I went through the trouble of retrieving it for you,"  
With that said, the spear seemed to emerge from the Angel's hand and slowly hovered into the air just inches above the Angel's hand.  
"Isn't it ironic?" the Angel said, "That you're going to die by the same weapon that have saved your life countless times. Also, you will die by the same weapon that have doomed to to a tragic fate, all because you used it,"  
Ranma's eyes was wide as he stared at the Spear. The Angel grinned as it said, "Goodbye, Tabris," It dropped Ranma onto the ground and placed its foot on Ranma's throat, preventing him from moving.  
"Ranma!" everyone in the control room seemed to shout at once as they all knew the inevitable was about to happen.  
The Angel brought the Spear up into the air and then brought it down upon Ranma. For a split moment, an AT field form in front of Ranma, protecting him. Unfortunately, the AT field was unable to stop the Spear's momentum as the field shattered like glass and the Spear shot right into Ranma's right eye and and through the back of his skull.  
Ranma screamed out in excruciating pain as the Spear tore through his right eye and the back of his skull. He clutched at his eye socket as the Angel pulled the Spear back out, doing even more damage to Ranma than when it had first entered him.  
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" everyone could heard Ranma's agony-ridden screams echoing within the control room.  
The Angel took a step back and smiled as it watched Ranma writh in excruciating agony, clutching at his face, a massive puddle of blood forming from the blood oozing from Ranma's horribly mutilated eye. A moment later, the Angel took a step back forward and stabbed Ranma right in his left should, shattering his clavicle upon entrance and shoulder blade upon exit.  
Ranma screamed out in pain again as he still clutched at his eye with one hand and using his other arm in an attempt to pull the Spear back out of his shoulder. He continued to struggled for a few moments before the pain finally consumed him, allowing him to take refuge in unconsiousness. Unfortunately, his unconsiousness would not last long for he would soon die from loss of blood.  
The Angel left the Spear where it was, embedded through Ranma and into the ground, and turned around, beginning his journey to NeoNerv to reach the Adam of this world. In a short moment, the Angel would have achieved its objective and all of humanity would be destroyed.  
From within the control room, everyone had been shocked silent. Everyone had tears on their eyes as they realized Ranma had died for a second time. It was no fair.  
"It's over," Misato said, slomping down in a nearby chair, utterly defeated, "The Angel won and is on its way here and there is no way we could stop it,"  
"Ranma, Ranma, Ranma," Akane seemed to be repeating to herself, unable to believe she had just lost him for the second time.  
"R-Ranma," Ritsuko said, gazing at the screen where it showed an image of Ranma's motionless body, a puddle of blood rapidly growing, "I-I can't b-believe h-he's..." She began to sob, unable to contain her emotions. Ranma had been through so much and it seemed like it was no fair for him to die like that.  
"What are we going to do?" Shinji asked, shivering slightly. He was terrified about what was going to happen to him and everyone else. Because Ranma had lost, that meant all of humanity was going to be destroyed because there was no way him or anyone else would be able to stop that Angel.  
"There's only one thing we can do," Misato said sullenly, tears streaming down her cheeks.  
Everyone looked at one another. They only had one last option and that was to self destruct the entire complex, blow everything up along with themselves and the Adam of this world.  
"We're only prolonging the inevitable. There are still more Angel's left," Nene commented.  
"There's nothing much else we can do," Priss answered, "At least this way, everyone will have two more weeks left,"  
"Oh my god!" Asuka nearly shouted, pointing toward the screen. She had mostly kept her gaze on the screen the whole time.  
Everyone turned toward the screen and were shocked at what they saw. Displayed on the screen, Ranma was lying flat on his back, slowly pulling the Spear back out of his shoulder. Ranma's pain could be seen clearly on his face as he clenched his teeth, fighting back the urge to scream and fall back into unconsiousness.  
"R-Ranma!" Misato continued to cry, "P-Please, d-don't do this to yourself," She fell down to her knees and wept into her hands. Shinji turned around and vomitted into a nearby garbage can, unable to bear to look at Ranma's face for Ranma no long covered his eye, busying using both arms to free himself from the Spear's embrace.  
"H-he's s-still alive!" Nene gasped.  
Everyone stared at the screen in disbelief as Ranma, through sheer willpower, managed to pull the Spear free from his body, and then got up to his feet, Spear in hand. They could see Ranma's blood soaked shirt, the blood footprints left behind with every step he took.  
"W-where's he going?" Priss asked.  
"Quickly, switch to an overhead view," Linna said.  
Nene pressed several buttons and the screen immediately switched to an aerial view of the slums. A second later, they caught sight of Ranma hurling the Spear in front of him at and intense speed toward something off screen just a split second before an energy blast emerged from where Ranma had been aiming at, hitting Ranma and sending him flying bodily through the air where he slid to a halt several meters away from where he had been standing just a moment ago.  
"He must've been aiming for the Angel!" Akane realized first. She turned toward Linna and said, "Make the camera zoom out. I wanna know what happened to that Angel,"  
Linna did as she was told. Everyone watched the screen as it slowly panned outward. After a moment, the Angel's body came into view. It was lying flat on its back, the Spear jutting out from right between its eyes.  
"H-he d-did it," Akane gasped, looking at another monitor and no longer finding the pattern blue that represented the Angel. All she could see was Ranma's pattern on the monitor, "R-Ranma's defeated the Angel,"  
Asuka was the first one to rush out of the control room as she said, "We have to save Ranma!"  
Ranma's motionless body was carried into the infirmary within the hour after the battle. Priss had quickly made it topside first, racing at breakneck speeds on her motorcycle. She didn't care how dangerous it was to be racing through the streets at that speed so long as it gave Ranma even the slightest more chance of surviving. When Priss arrived at the scene, she couldn't help but vomit at the sight of Ranma's devestated body, especially what remained of his right eye.  
Fighting back the nausea within her, Priss had managed to pick Ranma up and placed him on her bike before racing back toward the infirmary. As she quickly made her way back to NeoNerv, she could feel that back of her clothes becoming drenched in Ranma's blood. When Priss finally arrived at NeoNerv, everyone was outside ready to intercept Ranma and bring him within the confines. Hinako immediately began to administer pain killers as she ran along side the gurney holding Ranma and toward the infirmary.  
Hinako was the only who managed to fight back the utterly horrified look everyone gave when they saw the extent of Ranma's injuries. "W-will Ranma be all right?" Misato asked between sobs.  
Hinako hesitated for a moment before answering. She said, "I don't know. Luckily, the Spear only grazed passed a part of Ranma's brain. As to whether or not he has brain damage, I'm pretty sure there is no way he could have walked away from such an injury without it,"  
"D-do y-you know the extent of the damage?" Sylia gazed down at Ranma. Her eyes had never left him, not for one moment. "Will he ever be able to see out of his right eye again?"  
"No,"

Everyone was gathered around Ranma's bedside immediately after the computer that had been constantly monitoring him indicated that he was coming back out of his coma. Actually, they didn't even need a computer because Asuka had been by Ranma's side ever since he had been stablized close to two weeks ago. She couldn't bring herself to leave Ranma, not after what had happened to the other Ranma over a year ago.  
They all watched breathlessly as Ranma stirred slightly, groaning in pain. "Ranma," Akane said, taking a step forward and taking hold of Ranma's hand. She pressed his hand against her cheek as she silently shed tears for him.  
Several minutes passed before Ranma finally managed to open his one good eye, his other eye, along with over half of his head covered in bandages.  
"Ranma, w-welcome back," Akane said before breaking down in tears, placing her face in Ranma's chest and sobbing. Pretty soon, everyone followed suit, beginning to cry as they all placed a hand on Ranma and assuring him how happy that he had survived.  
Ranma sat upright, giving out a little yelp from the pain that surged through his body. After the pain subsided, he looked around his bedside and saw everyone gathered around him.  
"Who are you?"

"You don't remember us?" Hinako said. This was what she had been afraid of. It seems that the extent of Ranma's braindamage could have resulted in complete loss of his memories. Everyone within the room was staring at Ranma in disbelieve, praying this was some kind of joke.  
"I'm sorry, but I don't recognize you," Ranma said. He had no idea where he was, how he got there, or who he was. He was too confused to know how to react. "You have sustained some severe head injuries," the doctor said, "and it seem your memory has been effected,"  
"H-how did I get these...injuries?" Ranma asked, slowly sitting upright in his bed. He immediately noticed his right shoulder was bandaged closely to his body. It must had somehow been disloacted. "How did I get here?" It took a moment before he realized that he had no sense of depth perception. He brought a hand up to his right eye and realized that it had been bandaged.  
"W-what happened to my eye? Why is it bandaged?"  
Hinako felt like crying as she said, "You lost your right eye in a fight,"  
"What? You've gotta be kiddin' me! I-I have no r-right eye?" Ranma stared at Hinako, "H-how did it happen? Why was I fighting,"  
"You had been stabbed through the eye," Hinako said, trying to keep in control, "as well as stabbed through your right shoulder. That's why your shoulder and eye was bandaged,"  
"Did I do something wrong? Why had I been stabbed in the eye and shoulder?" he asked. He wanted answers, "What's going on here? How the hell could I have lost an eye?"  
"This is all going to be very hard to explain, too hard for me to explain," Sylia stepped forward, placing a hand on Ranma's, "Please, calm down,"  
"Calm down? Why the hell should I calm down?" Ranma said a bit loud. He pointed toward the bandages covering over his eye, "I'm missin' a goddamn eye!"  
"Ranma," Misato said, "Please, don't overexert yourself. You had suffered major injuries just a short while ago and you still haven't healed completely yet,"  
"Who are you? Hell, who are all of you people? Do I know you?"  
"Yes, you know everyone in this room," Sylia said, "Rather, you knew everyone in this room,"  
"If I know you, shouldn't I be able to remember something? How come my memories isn't coming back?" he asked.  
"T-that's the problem," Hinako wiped a tear from her eyes, "We're not too sure if your memories will be coming back. You're not suffering from amnesia, you're suffering from actual brain damage. Your hippocampus must had been severaly damaged and this is the result,"  
Ranma gazed around the room, hoping there was someone there that he could recognize. He felt a huge burden being lifted from his shoulders when he did indeed recognize someone. He recognized the young looking girl holding his hand that sported short hair, "I know you,"  
Akane's eyes widened, pointing to herself, tears threatening to fall, "Y-you recognize me?"  
"Of course. You're Akane," Ranma said.  
Akane burst out crying as she buried her head in his chest, "Oh Ranma, thank god you're all right. I was so worried you would not remember me,"  
"You don't remember us?" Priss asked, pointing her herself and the other girls, "How do you remember Akane?"  
Ranma looked around for a moment, "Wait, I think I recognize you. You look a bit familiar," He pointed toward Lisa, "I think I've seen you somewhere before but I can't quite place my finger on it,"  
"My name's Lisa Kurinagi. Do you recognize that name?" Lisa asked, hopeful.  
He shook his head, "No, I don't. However, you do look familiar," "How can you remember Lisa and Akane and not us?" Priss asked, almost angry. She immediately banished her emotions when she realized that she should not be getting angry at Ranma. She should be grateful that he was still alive.  
"I think I know," Sylia said, "Ranma's hippocampus must had been damaged. That means all of his short term memories were destroyed, along with his memories of meeting us. He knew Akane from well over forty years ago, which'll mean his long term memory hadn't been damaged. He only recognizes Lisa and not her name because she had been a little girl back then and Ranma had never really met her until over a decade ago, the same time he had met us,"  
"T-that's no fair...after all we've been through," Priss said softly, looking down at the ground, "So that's it, all his memories of us are gone? All he remembers is Akane and Lisa..."  
Ranma turned toward Akane and smiled. It was nice to find a familiar face in an otherwise chaotic atmosphere, "I'm glad I recognize you," He slowly tried to get up out of bed but the surge of pain prevented him, "Ite,"  
"Ranma, you lie back down and rest," Akane said, "You're in no condition to get up,"  
"That's easy for you to say, you're not the one that was forgotten," Priss spoke up.  
"Why are you so angry?" Ranma asked Priss curiously, "I mean, if I forgot about you, then what would be so hard about getting to know you all over again?" Priss blushed slightly as she thought about it. In a way, it was like a second chance to have him get to know her, rather than remember how they first met, on the battlefield, when they accidentally mistakened each other for boomers and attempted to kill each other.  
Everyone was silent for a moment. They all seemed to be contemplating this as a blessing in disguise.  
"Surely you couldn't've forgotten me," Asuka said confidently, her hands on her hips, "I'm the type of girl you can never forget about,"  
The eyebrow of Ranma's good eye raised as he regarded Asuka for a moment.  
A lump seemed to form around Asuka's neck as she noticed Ranma staring at her. It created a very awkward moment for her even though she knew he was trying to recognize her. It hurt when she knew Ranma could show no indication that he recognized her.  
"Um, well, it's not like it bothers me that you forgot me," Asuka said glibly, "If I could be in your kind of situation and forget you, I would gladly do it,"  
"Even if that meant losing an eye?" he asked softly.  
Asuka was silent. Perhaps now was not the time to be so critical toward Ranma. He had been in a coma, afterall. But then again, she didn't really know what other way to act toward Ranma, whether he recognized her or not.  
"If you don't like me, then why are you here?" Ranma asked flatly, dead serious. Whoever this girl was with the flowing red hair, it was obvious she seemed to have some kind of comtempt toward him.  
"Um..." Asuka's eyes widened. Her heart skipped a beat. She never in her life was expecting for Ranma to say something like that with such seriousness. Where was that teasing smirk he always used when saying something like that? Where was that smirk he used to drive her insane?  
Ranma took a deep breath and sighed, "Look, whatever I said, forget I meant it. I guess you have your reasons," He looked at Akane, "Akane, where's everyone else?"  
"Huh? What do you mean?"  
"Y'know, Pops, your dad, Nabiki, Kasumi, and even Happousei," he asked, "Where are they?"  
The room became deathly silent, Akane unable to do anything but stare at Ranma.  
"What? Is it something I said?" he asked.  
"Um, e-everyone...they died a long time ago," Akane finally said, sniffling a bit. She couldn't believe it. It was actually ironic that she would be telling the same thing to Ranma after he had told her the same thing over a decade ago.  
"D-died?"  
Sylia spoke up, "Ranma, many many years have passed since your friends and family had died,"  
"Ranma, our town was destroyed over forty years ago," Akane said, "Everyone in it, along with myself, except for yourself and Ryoga had died when it had been burned to the ground,"  
He looked at Akane with disbelieving eyes as he asked, "B-but how could that be? What do you mean by 'along with yourself'?"  
"Ranma, it's a long story..."

Ranma was sitting upright in his bed.  
"This has gotta be all a dream," he muttered, "This can't be true. I remember everything like it was yesterday. I remember sparring with Pop in the morning. Getting into fights on my way to school. And how the heck could I have died? What the hell do you mean that my real self had died over a year ago? You're not making any sense,"  
"Like Akane said a short while ago," Ritsuko said, "it's all a long story. We're going to need some time to explain all of this to you. Unfortunately, it's something we don't have much of right now because the next Angel, provided it sticks to the pattern, is going to be attacking very soon,"  
"There's that word again, 'Angel'," Ranma said, "What do you mean by 'Angels'? And me being an 'Angel' myself? This doesn't make sense. I don't understand it,"

"Hey, you know what just occurred to me?" Misato asked Ritsuko out of the blue. They were both in their apartment and it was very late at night. Everyone should be asleep around now. It was just that Misato and Ritsuko crossed paths on their way to the fridge for a midnight snack.  
"What?"  
"Now that Ranma has lost his memory, he would have no idea whether or not he had slept with someone," Misato commented, "That means there is no way we can tell if he's a virgin or not. Because he doesn't even know if he is for himself,"  
"Misato, goto sleep,"

"Oh shit, we have a pattern blue!" Linna said, definite show of concern in her visage and voice.  
Everyone turned toward Ranma.  
"W-what?" he asked, feeling a sense of awkwardness from the staring eyes, "What's this pattern blue?"  
"Ranma, it's the next Angel," Akane said first, "It's going to attack us and you're the only one here that is even remotely capable enough to stop it,"  
Ranma took a step back, "I-It's coming h-here? And I hafta stop it? Why?"  
"We already went over that," Sylia said, "If it makes it past us and reaches the Adam of this world, everyone will be killed in the process. Basically, you're our last line of defense against the Angels,"  
"Oh man," Ranma swallowed the lump in his throat, "B-but how am I gonna be able to defeat this so-called Angel? I can barely even use my right arm. What will happen if I lose?"  
"Then we will wait for the Angel to get inside of NeoNerv where we will proceed to self-destruct the entire complex," Misato said matter-  
of-factly, "That's basically the only thing we can do to stop the Angel,"  
"C'mon, I-I ain't ready for t-this," Ranma studdered, his heart racing. The thought of the world depending on him defeating this Angel, whatever it is, weighed heavily on his shoulders, "I don't even know what I'm up against,"  
"No, you simply forgot what you were up against," Ritsuko interrupted, "You've already fought and defeated over a dozen Angels,"  
"So what the hell happened with the last Angel I fought?" Ranma asked, "It seems like I lost because I no longer have a right eye..."  
Everyone was silent for a moment. Misato said first, "No, you didn't lose. Even though you had suffered serious injuries, you still managed to stop the Angel from reaching NeoNerv. We believe you can do it again, even if you don't remember having gone through this many times before,"  
The girls seemed to nod at once. Akane just stared at Ranma, seemingly brainstorming.  
Ranma sighed, "All right, I'll give it my best shot,"  
"You're going to have to give it more than that," Ritsuko said rather softly, "We're all going to be praying that you remember what to do once the battle arises,"  
"Gee, I just feel much better now," Ranma said sarcastically. He looked down at his hands, which were shaking slightly, "Um, all right, let's get this over with. What should I do? Where should I go to stop this Angel?"  
"Topside," Misato said, pointing upward, "You're going to be wearing a small communicator and we will simply relay the Angel's movements and whereabouts to you. When and where you intercept the Angel is up to you. However, your last battle nearly destroyed the entire slums you were fighting in so I suggest you fight somewhere away from here,"  
Ranma nodded, "All right, I gotcha,"  
"Ranma, the Angel is roughly fifty miles west of your location and coming in at approximately three hundred kilometers per hour," came Misato's voice into the communicator. Ranma was standing on top of a very tall building, a building everyone said he and his friends used to use as a lookout point.  
"What? How the hell do you expect me to stop something moving that fast?" Ranma said, "All it'll hafta do is zoom right by me and then there's no way I can catch up. I may be fast, but I'm not that fast,"  
"Yes, you're much faster, believe me," Misato said, "You can use your wings,"  
"How?" he said loudly, peering over his shoulder at his back where two massive wings were sticking out. How the girls managed to put those wings on him, he had no idea. All he remembered was seeing Akane bringing in a pair of wings and simply pressing them against back, the wings remaining there ever since.  
"I don't know," Misato said, a bit angry, "You're the only one here that knows...that knew how to use them. It's probably like riding a bike and will all come back to you! Just do it!"  
Ranma gritted his teeth. This was not what he wanted. All he knew was that he had woken up from a deep coma with a missing eye, a shattered but slowly healing right shoulderblade, and had just been sent out to fight and kill this so-called Angel. The only thing he remembered before this was slight traces of being with Akane and her family when they used to live in Nerima so many years ago.  
"Misato, you hafta go easy on Ranma," Linna said, "Keep in mind his situation. How would you react after waking up and being sent into a battle field by a bunch of people you don't recognize?"  
Misato sighed as she said into the microphone, "Ranma, look, I'm sorry I snapped. It's just that you're our only hope. Anyway, just try and remember how to fly,"  
"All right," came Ranma's reply. He cautiously walked over to the endge of the building and peered down, "Goddamnit, I'm so damn high up here. You expect me to just jump right off? You've gotta be outta yer mind! It took me ten minutes to run up the steps of this building, but it's only gonna take me ten seconds after I jump off to hit the ground!"  
"There's no other way, Ranma," Misato said, "You're going to have to force yourself to learn or we're all in trouble,"  
"All right," Ranma took several deep breaths. He couldn't believe he was doing this. A moment later, he lept off the building and began his hurtling descent toward the ground far below, "Oh my god! This was a bad idea!" He was shouting into the communicator as the winds ripped by him. He was trying his hardest to get his wings to work, but they would not. "Ranma you baka!" Akane shouted, "Fly!"  
However, Ranma did not fly. Just a story or two above the ground, Ranma released a massive hurricane from his fist and used the winds generated to impede his descent. When his feet safely touched the ground, Ranma shouted, "There, you happy? I tried it and it didn't work! All I have to show for it is a shortened lifespan!"  
"Goddamnit, Ranma! You have to learn to fly!" Priss grabbed the microphone, "Quite being such a goddamn baby and try it again!"  
"That's easier said than done," he said, "I don't even know what the hell I'm trying to do,"  
Akane looked at the screen. The Angel was getting closer and closer. Ranma and the Angel would engage in combat in a very short while. At the moment, Ranma was at an extreme disadvantage, what with his inability to fly, a missing eye, and a severaly weakened right arm. She had to do something to even the odds.  
It only took a moment before Akane realized something.  
"Ranma, get your ass back here! I have an idea!" Akane said into the microphone.  
"What kinda idea?" he asked.  
"You're going to use the Neko-ken against the Angel,"

"What's this Neko-ken?" Misato asked. She and the others, save Priss and Lisa, were standing outside of NeoNerv, awaiting Ranma's arrival.  
"It's Ranma's other battle stance," Akane said, tapping her foot on the ground. "Other battle stance? You mean he has other battle stances other than the one he uses?" Nene asked, eyes widening. From what she surmised, Ranma didn't need another battle stance since his usual one was pretty much undefeatable.  
"If Ranma remembers everything from his past, then he'll definitely be able to use that stance," Akane said.  
"What stance?" Linna asked, "I don't understand,"  
"Look, a long long time ago, Ranma learned the ultimate stance, the Neko-ken," Akane said, "If he uses that stance, then he'll have a much better chance against the Angel than he does now."  
"What's this stance do?" Misato asked. She looked at her watch, "And when the hell is Priss going to get back?"  
Akane cleared her throat and said, "Look, a while back, Ranma learned this stance called the Neko-ken. It's the ultimate stance and is totally undefeatable. Anyway, the only way to get Ranma to use this stance is to make him go crazy,"  
"M-make him go crazy? What do ya mean?" Nene asked, "I don't understand,"  
"You'll see,"  
"Look, there's Priss," Asuka pointed toward the distance where Priss, on her bike, could be seen heading toward them. Everyone watched as she got closer and closer. When Priss made it to the group, she got off her bike and reached into the interior of her jacket where she pulled out a cat.  
"Ritsuko, you were right, I didn't have much trouble finding a cat in that alley you mentioned," Priss said, handing the cat over to Akane, "All right, here's your cat. What are you gonna do with it?"  
"There's Ranma," Shinji shouted, pointing toward the lone figure making his way up to the group. When Ranma made it there, he said, "Damn, I can't believe I ran for that long," When he caught sight of the cat in Akane's hands, his eyes widened, "Oh god! Get it the hell away from me!"  
"What's going on here?" Sylia noticed Ranma's skin turn pale, "Ranma, are you all right?"  
"N-n-no! G-get that thing a-away from me!" he answered, nearly hysterical, pointing at the cat.  
Akane's brows creased as she said, "Ranma, you know what you have to do! There's no other way!"  
"T-there's g-gotta be another way!"  
"No! There isn't!" Akane snapped.  
"Guys, the Angel is near the entrance underground," Lisa's voice emerge from a nearby speaker. She had been in the control room monitoring the situation the whole time, "It's going to be here in a few more minutes,"  
"Ranma! Change!" Akane said, walking toward Ranma, the cat held in front of her.  
Ranma was taking steps back, matching Akane's steps forward, "T-t-  
there has to b-be a better way!"  
Everyone else was simply staring at the situation unfolding in front of them. From what they were seeing, it was pretty easy to ascertain that Ranma was deathly afraid of cats. To think they had known Ranma all this time and had never known of his acute phobia of cats made them realize they knew far less about Ranma than they thought.  
"Everybody, grab Ranma and hold him!" Akane said, realizing she was never going to catch up to Ranma at this rate.  
Not really knowing what the heck was going on, everyone did as they were told. They all managed to bumrush Ranma from behind, knocking him down on the ground and holding him down as he shouted, "Lettgo! Lettgo of me!" He struggled to free himself, but his phobia had got the better of him and somehow managed to sap away all of his strength as he was held down on ground on his back, his arms and legs spread from his body, a person holding each appendage.  
Akane walked up to Ranma and placed the cat right on his chest. Ranma shrieked in horror as he tried to free himself as the cat gently crawled up his chest toward his face where it licked him a few times on his cheek.  
"All right, lettgo of him," Akane said quickly, noticing Ranma had stopped his twitching.  
Everyone did as they were told. They took a step back and watched as Ranma sat upright and then hopped to his feet. However, once on his feet, he was hunched over, his hands touching the ground, a sneer on his lips.  
"What the?" Misato muttered, her eyes widening, taking a very frightened step back. Ranma had this absolutely crazy look in his eyes. She fell down backwards, her legs trembling. Heck, everyone else's legs were trembling at the sight of Ranma's actions. He looked like a totally different person, no, more like a raging animal ready to strike out at something, even them.  
Ranma slowly made his way toward the ground, his movements totally silent and graceful.  
Akane jumped in front of the group, "Don't you dare, Ranma!"  
Ranma stopped his forward movement and gazed up at Akane, recognition on his visage. He sat down on his hind legs, seemingly waiting instructions.  
Akane pointed at something behind Ranma and said, "Ranma, there's an Angel on its way here that's going to hurt me and your friends. You have to stop it,"  
He didn't say a word. Rather, he simply nodded as if he had actually understood Akane's words before he turned around. A moment later, a thunderous sound shook the entire underground complex as Ranma took off from a standing start toward the incoming Angel faster than the sound barrier. The group watched as dirt could be seen shooting upwards from Ranma's intense velocity, like the wake of a water from a boat.  
The group watched at Ranma engaged in combat with the Angel in the far off distance. A moment after that, the sounds of the furious battle could be heard echoing throughout the entire undreground complex. They watched as Ranma skillfully dodged the hundreds upone hundreds of energy blasts the Angel shot toward him. They even saw Ranma making extremely wide slashing movements toward the air in front of him and the Angel and seeing massive red slashes streak across the sky, like a claw ripping through the very fabric of time and space and striking the Angel, sending it hurtling hundreds of yards backwards. Energy blasts could be also seen being shot toward Ranma only to have it deflected right back at the Angel and causing considerable damage. Huge chunks of the earth were being ripped upward as they saw Ranma digging his hands into the ground and lifting it, turning the whole chunk of dirt upside down and on top of the Angel. Every single move Ranma made seemed to make him disappear as he went from a standing start to sonic speeds, only leaving behind blurs of where he had been a moment ago. To some extent, Ranma had left behind as many as three images in his wake from moving so fast.  
The battle was concluded when they saw Ranma and the Angel facing one another, and then Ranma disappearing for a moment and reappearing behind the Angel, his hands held away from his body as if he had just attacked.  
A second after that, a massive illuminous red streaks criss-crossed over the Angel, as if the light from Ranma's attack finally reached the group, before the Angel screamed out and collapes to its knees where it then exploded magnificantly.  
The groups shouted as they saw the huge wall of flames expand and come racing toward them.  
"Oh shit!" Priss shouted, pointing. "Get the hell into the building!" Misato shouted to everyone. She prayed Ranma would be all right.  
Before she or anyone else even managed to turn around to run into the building, Ranma seemed to appear right in between the group and the incoming wall of flames. Before anyone had a chance to say anything, they felt themselves being lifted up by Ranma and carried toward NeoNerv at an intense speed, a speed that would had ripped them to hreds but it didn't due to some special field that seemed to surround them and Ranma.  
As Misato was being carried, she managed to catch sight of Ritsuko and Asuka, whom were under Ranma's other arm, and the things around her and realized that there were two more other Ranma nearby, carrying the rest of the group. Her eyes widened as she knew she was seeing more than one Ranma.

Ranma was sitting in a chair inside the debriefing room as everyone was gathered around him. Since it was obvious that the Angel had been defeated, what with there no longer being a patter blue on the computer screen, now was the time to ask questions and get some answers.  
"I saw it!" Linna said, "I swear, I saw more than one of you!"  
"Yeah, she isn't the only one! We all saw more than one of you!" Ritsuko said.  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ranma said innocently, "I remember nothing about that battle,"  
"That's bullshit! I saw it with my own eyes!" Priss said, slamming fist into the table, "As you were carrying me and Sylia and Linna, I saw two other versions of yourself carrying the others running right along side us! How the hell do you explain that? I may be a bit stressed out over all the shit that's happened over the months, but there's no doubt in my mind about what I saw! There's no way all of us could had had the same hallucination at the same time!" She also added, "And above that, what the hell were you doing on Akane's laps back there?" Akane blushed a deep shade of red. That had been the only way to get Ranma out of his Neko-ken stance.  
"I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about," Ranma repeated, "I remember nothing of the incident,"  
"Um, it's true, he remembers nothing," Akane said out, managing to hide her blush.  
"What was that back there? What kinda stance was that?" Sylia asked calmly, feeling a bit stressed out for having no idea what was going on. She usually liked being in control, but with Ranma, everything seemed to be out of her control.  
Ranma sighed, "Look, from what Akane told me, I used my Neko-ken stance. It's my other stance. That's all,"  
"Yeah, but why were you freaking out over that cat?" Nene asked, "I definitely saw you freaking out. Are you scared of cats?"  
"Um...yeah, I am. Okay? You happy? I'm scared of cats! Go ahead and laugh!"  
If it weren't for everyone being so shocked at what could happen when Ranma's fear of cats peaks, they would had probably burst out laughing. They kept silent. If it weren't for that stance, they would all probably be dead by now, and that was something they were not going to laugh about.

It was late at night and Sylia was sitting in front of her computer. Once again, she was doing one of her late-night researches. She was glancing at the computer screen as several images played out in front of her. They were video footage of Ranma as he and his other selves ran into NeoNerv to safety from the wall of fire just outside the main entrance.  
She pressed a button, which paused the screen. It clearly showed a shot of Ranma and two other ones following closely behind. "What the hell did you do, Ranma, that could possibly have caused this? Could it be like some kind of tangible form of your psyche? Could you have subconsiously used your AT field to conjure those...helpers? Heck, which one was the real you?"  
Sylia pinched the bridge of her nose. This was getting her no where and fast. This was the biggest mystery to her so far. She had managed to surmise Ranma's appearance well over a decade ago and his deep hatred for Genom and his subconsious comtempt to becoming part boomer, both of which were definitely an extravagant piece of dectective work, yet there was nothing she could think of that would solve this mystery. Ranma was no help because he remembered nothing. Akane couldn't help because, although she knew of Ranma's abilities, had never seen it like that before.  
"There has got to be an explanation for this,"

new stuff

"Y'know what I think it is?" Ranma spoke, biting into an apple, "I think it's just like what that old ghoul used to do,"  
Ranma and Akane were the only ones up this late at night, the three children asleep. They were both sitting in the livingroom, seemingly talking the night away. Ever since Ranma had woken up from his coma, Akane seemed to purposely spend more time with him.  
"What do you mean?" Akane asked. She felt a bit tired, but was very eager to hear Ranma's comments.  
"Well, remember back then when I fought Cologne and she used this technique on me where she split up into multiple images of herself and surrounded me? That way, I didn't know which one was which? Of couse, I threw that drumstick and the real Cologne went for it. Well, perhaps that coulda been what I had done,"  
"That sounds plausible," Akane had to agree, "But one problem with that notion is that your other selves were actually tangible. They weren't just images. They were actually there,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Well, whatever the case, I have no idea how I did it. I don't even remember what I had done when in that stance so I guess I'm gonna be of no help,"  
Akane laid back on the couch she was one, yawning a bit, "Whatever the case, we're all very curious as to what it was. However, if that had been part of your neko-ken, I'm just wondering why I've never seen it before. I've seen you use your neko-ken before, but have never seen that before,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Your guess is as good as mine,"  
Akane yawned again, getting up off the couch and heading for the stairs, "Look, I'm going to sleep now. Perhaps we can find out some more about this tomorrow,"  
"All right,"  
About halfway up the stairs, Akane paused to look back down as Ranma continued to sit on the couch, "Well, aren't you coming up to sleep?"  
Ranma's eyes widened, "W-what?"  
"Aren't you coming up to sleep?" she repeated.  
"W-w-we're sleeping t-together?" Ranma's surprised could be heard in his voice.  
Blushing red, Akane quickly said, "No! W-what makes you think that?"  
"Oh," he said, "It's just that by the way you said it, I thought...well, y'know. Afterall, it seems I have forgotten a lot,"  
Saying nothing, Akane smiled slightly, this warm feeling in her heart. She turned around and headed back upstairs. "Goodnight, Ranma,"

"I think I know how Ranma was able to do that," Akane said. It was sometime in the mid afternoon the next day. Everyone was gathered around the debriefing room, save Ranma, who was somewhere in NeoNerv, exploring the place to become more familiar with everything and perhaps seeing something that might jog his memory.  
Misato, eager to hear Akane's suggestion as much as everyone else, said, "What do you think? What could it be?"  
"I've never seen that part of his stance before," Akane said.  
"Neither have any of us," Nene commented.  
"Just hear me out," Akane continued on, "Anyway, I've never seen that part of his stance before...at least not before that Nerima Massacre incident. Therefore, that could have been a technique he had learned afterwards, when he had been training on the mountains,"  
Sylia's eyes widened as she started putting two and two together, "Oh, so that means that perhaps Ranma hasn't forgotten everything all the way back to forty or so years ago, huh?"  
Akane nodded, "I believe so. That might mean that perhaps his memory isn't completely gone. If he retains his memories of his newly aquired neko-ken attacks, then perhaps he might still retain his other memories. It's probably buried deep in his head,"  
"You're bringing up a very good point, Akane," Ritsuko commented, "However, this is all just a stipulation. As much as it sounds plausible, perhaps it's just a fluke. Perhaps this was something Ranma knew long long ago, but you have never seen it before,"  
Akane let out an annoyed breath, "Yeah, perhaps, but it's still better than having no hope whatsoever,"  
"That's true," Ritsuko agreed, "This does at least make me feel a bit better with the thought that perhaps Ranma might actually still be able to remember us,"  
"Do you really believe there's a way to jog Ranma's memory back?" Linna asked, hopeful. She turned toward Hinako, "What do you think? Could there perhaps be something that might trigger it?"  
Hinako shook her head, "I doubt it. However, it might be worth a try. Hey, it's not like we have anything to lose,"  
"So what do we do?" Ritsuko asked.  
"I guess do anything that could perhaps trigger Ranma's memory," came the reply.  
"I can do that," everyone seemed to say at once.

Ranma as she stood by the entrance to NeoNerv, glancing straight ahead, seemingly in deep thought. He couldn't believe all the things that had happened to him. One day he had been enjoying a meal with the Tendo's and the next thing he knew, he was in an unfamiliar town with unfamiliar friends battling these omnipotent-like 'Angels'. And it didn't help matters any bit that he was also sans a right eye and full use of his right arm. He stood there for several minutes, wondering what he should do about his eye. The woman named Hinako had mentioned that there was a procedure where she could implant an artificial eye that would function as well as the real thing. The only problem was that everyone mentioned that he would become partly 'boomer' a term that he was told he was supposed to detest because of something that had happened so long ago, something he doesn't remember.  
When Sylia approached him from behind, Ranma said, "Do you think I should get my eye replaced," "How'd you know I was behind you?"  
"I sensed it," he replied. He turned to face Sylia, recognizing her from earlier, "Sylia, right?" He was never that great with names, only faces.  
Sylia nodded.  
"Um, so what do you think? Should I get it replaced?" he asked again.  
After a moment, Sylia said, "I wouldn't recommend it. Like we mentioned before, you would become part 'boomer' something you hated for many many years,"  
"Yeah, but isn't Akane a so-called 'boomer'?"  
"Yes, she is, but do you think you will be able to live with yourself, knowing that you have partially become something you hate?"  
"You're not really making it any easier for me," he sighed.  
"It's your choice,"  
"I guess," he sighed again. He took a deep breath and said, "So, what brings you out here?"  
"I just to ask you if you wanted to goto the beach?" Sylia asked. Ranma gave Sylia a very odd look, "The beach? What the hell for? I thought we had these things called 'Angels' to worry about,"  
Sylia gave a weak smile, "Yeah, but, um, I figured we should take a break," She reached into her pocket and pulled out a bottle of suntan lotion, "If you'd like, I can rub some suntan lotion on your back," She remembered going to the beach with him several times before those damn 'Angels' started attacking. Perhaps that could trigger the memories.  
Ranma used his one good eye to narrow it toward Sylia, "Now why would I want that? Do you have some kinda hidden agenda I don't know about?"  
Sylia blushed, "N-nothing at all. It's just that, um, I figured that might trigger your memories to come back,"  
"Oh?"  
"We all used to goto the beach together," Sylia said softly, "And I was just hoping-"  
"Oh, I get it," Ranma interrupted. He then shook his head, "Thanks for the gesture, but I still don't remember anything. I'm pretty sure it'll come back in all due time,"  
Sylia looked down toward the ground, "Yes, none of us know if it'll come back, let alone how long it might take,"  
Ranma didn't say anything. His lips became a think line as he stared ahead. After a few silent minutes, he turned back toward Sylia and smiled warmly, "Well, let's hope so. Besides, look on the bright side, even if I don't get my memories back, at least we can start all over and get to know each other again,"  
Sylia smiled back, "You're so optimistic, Ranma,"  
Ranma smiled in return, "I tend to be like that,"  
"I guess that's one of the qualities that made me fall for you," she said silently to herself.  
"Eh?" Ranma regarded Sylia, "Y-you're in love with me?"  
"Oh shit, um, you weren't supposed to hear that," Sylia's face turned crimson. Because she had said something that wasn't meant to be heard, but was heard, the situation had turned extremely awkward.  
Ranma scratched his head, "Um, I guess I better go inside now,"  
"Um, yeah, I guess so,"  
Ranma quickly turned around and ran into the NeoNerv, leaving Sylia all by her lonesome.  
Glancing toward the entrance, Sylia pinched the bridge of her nose, "Oh man, I can't believe he heard that,"

Ranma quickly made his way through the multiple corridors of NeoNerv.  
God, that was an awkward situation, he thought to himself. I mean, I don't even know how this Sylia person is and she just flat out said that she was in love with me. How the hell am I supposed to respond to something like that?  
"Ranma," Linna called out to him, spotting him as he rounded the corner.  
"Oh, hi...Linna, right?"  
Linna smiled, "That's right,"  
"Where were you headed?" he asked, hoping to make conversation, to keep his mind away from the situation that had arised before.  
"I was actually on my way out to see you," she said.  
"Oh?"  
Taking a deep breath, she said, "Well, we just found out that your memory loss might not be permanent,"  
"Really? That's good to hear. How?"  
"Well, it was something that Akane mentioned before," she replied, "She said that you actually might retain some of your recent memories. It has to do with that neko-ken stance you did the other day,"  
"Okay, so what do we do?"  
Linna smiled, "Actually, you don't do anything. It's what we are supposed to do. Hinako had said that there might be something we could do to trigger your memory to come back. We basically have to show you familiar things and perhaps expose you to familiar setting and situations that might get you to remember again,"  
Ranma seemed thoroughly interested, "Okay. So what do you plan on doing?"  
Linna smiled mischieviously and took a step closer, "About a year ago, you came back to MegaTokyo, ten years after it had been believed that you had died in a massive explosion,"  
"Okay, what about that? I don't recall any of that,"  
"When you came back, I had been estatic to see you again," she continued on.  
"Um, I'm flattered,"  
"Anyway, there was something I did that I'm pretty sure you wouldn't've forgotten," she said.  
"What is it? Tell me,"  
"Actually, um, I think it's better that I show you," Linna said softly, taking a deep breath.  
"What?"  
"This," Linna said before standing on the tips of her toes, reaching her arms out and around the back of Ranma's neck, her lips coming in contact with his before he had a chance to react.  
Linna kissed Ranma passionately, very much like the kiss she had given him over a year ago after seeming him alive after beliving he had died alongside Ryoga and Akane saving MegaTokyo.  
The kiss would had lasted much longer, what with Ranma seemingly unable to move or do anything simply because he was in shock, but it only lasted a few seconds before a voice erupted from down the corridior.  
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Priss' shout echoed.  
Ranma quickly managed to compose himself, albeit slightly, "I-I-it's not w-  
whatcha think!" He took a frightened step backwards as Priss approached him and Linna.  
"I wasn't talking to you," Priss said to Ranma before turning her attention to Linna, "What the hell do you have to say for yourself?"  
Linna, her face still flushed from the thought of having had her lips pressed against Ranma's, said, "I-I was just trying to help him remember,"  
"That's a buncha bullshit!" Priss spat, "You're just using that as an excuse to kiss him!"  
"So, what if I were?" Linna retorted, glaring back at Priss.  
"Um," Ranma tried to say, "I'm still here,"  
"And what do you suppose could help get Ranma to remember?" Linna asked, her arms crossing over her chest.  
"Um, er..."  
"I betcha you were going to try the same thing," Linna smirked.  
"How'd you know? I mean, no I wasn't!" Priss shouted, blushing slightly.  
"Guys, I'm still here," Ranma said softly, raising his hand as if a student in class.  
"What's going on?" Sylia asked as she approached the group. She had been relucatant to see Ranma again, what with the awkward situation that had occurred before because of her big fat mouth, but when she had heard shouts, she had decided it was best to investigate.  
"Priss is jealous that I thought up of kissing Ranma in hopes of getting him to remember," Linna replied.  
"I was not! You shut the hell, Linna!" Priss sneered.  
"Now why didn't I think of that?" Sylia said to herself, seemingly going into a daydream-like state.  
"Dontcha dare!" Priss threatened Sylia, "He's mine. The same thing goes for you, Linna,"  
"What was that?" Sylia glared back.  
"Um, guys, I'm still here," he said meekly as all three girls seemed to argue against on another.  
From out of nowhere, a massive mallet rained down on Ranma's head. "Ow, what the hell was that for?" Ranma shouted, rubbing his head as he turned to face his assailant.  
Mallet in hand, Akane looked at Ranma, "Now do you remember? Did that bring back memories?"  
"Yeah, and they're not fond memories," Ranma said, rubbing the bump, "Is this yer idea of getting me to remember?"  
"Well, I remember reading that a good jolt to the head could help bring back one's memories," Akane said confidently, "Besides, since getting hit with my mallet should be familiar since I used to do that to you all the time when we were younger, it would have twice the effect because it would not only be a jolt to the head, but a familiar jolt to the head also,"  
"Gee, now how can I go against logic in that?" Ranma said sarcastically.  
"You didn't hafta hit him, y'know," Priss commented. She and Linna and Sylia had stopped their bickering to look at Ranma and Akane.  
Akane raised the mallet again, "I guess I'll just hafta hit harder,"  
Because she was a lot faster and stronger than when she was younger, what with her having a different and better body and years and years more experience, Ranma had been unable to dodge her next attack. The mallet hit Ranma on the top of his head again, sending him crashing into the floor.  
"Holy shit! You're gonna kill him!" Priss said, diving forward and tackling Akane to the ground, the other two girls also bumrushing her. "Hey, I was only trying to help!" Akane said, struggling to free herself. Although she was pretty strong, she wasn't strong enough to fight off three determined females intent on restraining her from hurting Ranma any further.  
Ranma slowly got to his feet, rubbing his head "Ow, what hit me?"  
"Akane's mallet, that's what hit ya," Linna replied.  
"You guys can let go now," Akane said, "I won't hit him again,"  
"Him? Who do you mean by 'him'? I only see us five girls here," Ranma said.  
"Huh?" Linna, Priss, Sylia, and Akane said in unison.  
Ranma rubbed the bump on his head and started to pout, "This bump on my head is atrocious. How will I ever find a boyfriend with a lump on my head like this?"  
"B-boyfriend? W-what the hell are you talking about?" Linna asked.  
Ranma's eyes became starry, "Y'know, a boyfriend. The perfect man I hope to meet. The one I would eventually marry and bare the children of,"  
"What the hell's going on?" Sylia said, thoroughly confused.  
"I was about to say the same thing," Linna commented.  
Ranma looked down at his hands and shrieked, "Eeek!"  
"What? What's wrong?" Sylia said, concerned.  
"Look at my nails," Ranma said, "They're not manicured,"  
All four girls fell to the ground from shock.  
"What the fuck's wrong with you, Ranma?" Priss snapped, grabbing Ranma by his shirt collar, "Why the hell are you acting all weird?"  
Ranma's lips persed before tears started to trickle from his eyes, "Ow, y-  
you're hurting me,"  
"I'll do more than that if you don't stop acting all weird and shit," Priss threatened.  
Ranma started to cry.  
"What the hell's going on here?" Priss shouted, quickly releasing Ranma, "Is this some kinda joke?"  
"Please," Ranma said softly, "You shouldn't swear. It's not lady-like to swear,"  
"Who the hell're ya calling a lady?" Priss snapped, "I ain't no lady!"  
"Well I am," Ranma seemed to manage to steel himself, "And I wish to be spoken to with respect,"  
"A lady? What? Are you saying that you're a lady?" Priss' eyes were wide. She turned toward Akane, "Akane! What the hell's going on here?"  
Akane seemed to be slowly trying to stealthily tip toe away from the group when Priss had called out to her.  
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Priss said, grabbing Akane by the back of Akane's shirt.  
Akane turned around and held up her hands apologetically, "I'm sorry, I din't mean for this to happen,"  
"What? For what happen?" Sylia asked.  
"Ranma seems to believe he's a girl," Akane replied meekly.  
"What?"

"This can't be happening? How the hell could Ranma actually believe he's a girl?" Misato said. She and everyone, save Ranma and Akane and the children, were gathered in the livinging room of Ranma's house. Ranma was upstairs doing god knows what while Akane and the children were out somewhere. It seems Akane didn't' want the children to find out about this little dilema.  
"Um, I think it's because I hit him in the head," Akane said, "It seems he believes he's in his cursed form,"  
"Cursed form?" Ritsuko said, "You mean that thing that heard about where he changes in to a girl?"  
Akane nodded.  
"Okay, this just takes the cake," Misato said, throwing her hands up in the air in defeat, "A guy who truly believes he's a girl. Now I've seen it all,"  
"Are you sure he isn't joking around?" Lisa asked.  
Akane shook her head, "I doubt it,"  
"Let's find out," Misato smirked, "If Ranma really believe's he's a girl, then there should be things that he'll know that know guy in existence would know about,"  
"That sounds like a good idea," Nene said, smiling.  
Misato turned her attention toward the stairs and shouted, "Ranma, can you please come down here?"  
After a moment, Ranma entered the livingroom, "What is it, Auntie Misato?"  
One of Misato's eyes twitched. She quickly composed herself and gestured toward an empty seat on the couch, "Please, have a seat,"  
Ranma sat down, crossing his legs once he was comfortable.  
"Hee hee, he can cross his legs more feminine-like than you," Linna said softly as she nudged at Priss.  
"Ha ha, real funny," Priss muttered in reply. She then mummbled something like she was going to kill Linna in her sleep on night.  
"Ranma, I was wondering, speaking as one girl to a-another, what do you think is our most favorite kind of chocolate?" Misato asked.  
Ranma smiled and answered.  
"That's right," Misato smiled fakely, "Okay, how about this? After, y'know, that time of month-"  
"Oh, I hate those," Ranma interrupted, "I hate it especially on Saturdays because I'd hate feeling bloated and cranky on a day where I can otherwise relax,"  
One of Misato's eyes twitched again. She cleared her throat, "Y-you're right. I-I actually feel the same way about that. Um, anyway, after that time of the month, what to we crave the most?"  
Ranma smiled and answered.  
"Y-y-you're r-right," Misato stammered, shocked that the answer was true.  
Slyia turned toward Ritsuko, "This has got to be genuine. No man on earth will know that,"  
"What do we like better, baths or showers?"  
Ranma answered correctly.  
Still skeptic, Misato asked, "What's the first thing we do in the morning, before we even step out of bed to go take a shower? When we pull mallets out from out of nowhere, where is it actually coming from? When we see a potential boyfriend that enters the room, what's the first thing we notice about him? When a man sees us naked, even though we call him a pervert, what's the one word that describes how we actually feel we were realized we've been peeped upon? What's the first body part we wash when we step into the shower?"  
Ranma answered all five questions. However, the last question Ranma seemed to have answered wrong.  
"Ah ha! You're lying! We don't wash that bodypart first!" Misato smirked, "You're only acting!"  
"Um, I wash that part first," Sylia said.  
"Same here," Lisa and Ritsuko said.  
"I do the same also," Nene and Lina added.  
"I definitely wash that part first," Hinako.  
"Most definitely," Priss agreed.  
"Face it, Misato," Linna smirked mischieviously, "Ranma's right. It seems Ranma's even more of a woman than you are,"  
"She...he is not!" Misato pouted.  
Ranma placed a gentle hand on Misato's shoulder, "It's all right, some of us tend to be more masculine than others,"  
"You've got that right," Linna smirked, "And it seems Ranma's a better girl than Misato is,"  
"Hey, I heard that!" Misato snapped.  
"I just thought of something," Lisa smiled as she turned toward Slyia, "Do you think Ranma realized that he has a...y'know,"  
"A what?" Ranma asked.  
"Um, nevermind, you'll find out soon enough," Lisa giggled.

"Eeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkk!" Ritsuko smirked, "I guess Ranma's finally found out that he has an extra appendage that females aren't supposed to have," It was later in the evening. Akane and the children were expected to be home soon. After the questioning, and obviously proving that he was one of the females, Ranma had retired to go back upstairs.  
Ranma came running down the stairs, tears flowing, "Somebody kill me! I have a man's penis!"  
Misato was laughing, "Oh god, this is great!"  
"Really?" Ritsuko asked, mocking surprise.  
"Yeah!" Ranma said. He then pulled down the front of his pants, "Look!"  
Every one of the girls quickly turned their attention away from Ranma, turning their back toward him.  
"As much as I want to look," Misato commented, "I'd feel guilty if I took advantage of this situation," She wanted to peep on Ranma on whe she was good and ready. There was no thrill in seeing him naked when he was allowing her to see him that way.  
"Ranma-chan, p-please put it back," Sylia said, a horrible blush on her cheeks, just like the other girls. She refused to look. It wasn't right. It just wasn't right if she stole a glance. She wanted to be a voyeur just like any other normal girl, not some horny slut willing to take advantage of a person's innocence to satisfy her curiousity.  
"Just look at it!" Ranma said, tears still flowing, "What am I ever going to do?"  
"I dunno, perhaps realize how useful it could be when it comes to taking a leak and realizing there are no toilets around?" Misato said sarcastically, smirking while keeping her gaze straight ahead, her back toward Ranma.  
"Misato!" Nene scolded her, all the while smirking.  
"This is no joking matter!" Ranma said in between tears, "What am I going to do with this?"  
"Put it back!" Sylia said sternfully.  
Ranma sighed and did as he was told.  
"Is it back in your pants yet?" Linna dared to asked.  
"Yeah," came Ranma's dejected reply.  
The girls turned around to face the sullen Ranma. When they noticed how sad he looked, it was as if their hearts cried out for him in unison. They all walked up to Ranma and gave him a pat on the shoulder, reassuring him.  
"There there, it's all right, Ranma," Misato said, biting her lip to keep from laughing, "I'm sure we can find a way work things out,"  
"Thanks," Ranma smiled slightly, a bit more confident.  
"We're home," came Akane's voice.  
"Good, Akane's back," Lisa said. She headed toward the front of the house when she met up with Akane.  
"How'd things go? Is he back to normal?" Akane asked. She and the children had gone to the supermarket to pick up some food. It's amazing how long food could last without a hint of spoiling even though nearby supermarkets were unattended.  
Shinji looked at Akane, "What do you mean by that? Are you talking about Ranma?"  
Akane smiled meekly, "Nothing to worry about, Shinji. You and Rei and Asuka, just head on upstairs. I'll take care of putting away the food. Um, they're just trying to get Ranma to remember, that's all,"  
"We can try and help," Rei offered.  
"T-that won't be necessary," Akane quickly said.  
"Still," Shinji said before finally obeying and heading up the stairs. Asuka shrugged her shoulder and followed suit, Rei also doing the same. Once out of sight, Akane sighed in relief, glad that the children don't know of Ranma's little change of personality. She quickly entered the livingroom where the girls were gathered around Ranma. Lisa followed closely behind.  
"How goes everything?" Akane asked.  
Sylia stepped aside and up to Akane and shook her head, "Let's just say that all we managed to do was find out, without a shadow of a doubt, that Ranma truly believes he's a girl,"  
"I could have told you that," Akane said.  
"We haven't an idea of how to get Ranma to revert back to his normal male self," Sylia said.  
"Well, I guess I'm gonna hafta hit him upside the head again," Akane commented, "Since that seems to be the only thing that worked back then,"  
Akane quickly walked up to the livingroom and up to Ranma, "Ranma, I want you to do me a favor,"  
Ranma looked up at Akane, "W-what is it?"  
"I want you to close your eyes,"  
Ranma did as he was told.  
The moment Akane pullet a mallet out of nowhere, all the girls bumrushed her, "Oh no you don't!"  
"Hey, what gives?" Akane struggled to free herself, "I'm only trying to help!"  
"Um, is it okay to open my eyes yet?" Ranma asked, eyes still shut.  
"There's gotta be a better way," Lisa commented, "You can't go hitting him on the head. It's bound to do more harm than good," Akane continued to struggle, "Hey, there's no other way. Now, if you guys can think of a better way, I'm all ears, otherwise, lettgo of me so I can do my job,"  
The girls seemed to all reluctantly release their hold on Akane since it was true, they had no idea how to go about getting Ranma back to normal.  
Akane walked up to Ranma, who still had his eyes closed and brought the mallet up, "Don't worry, Ranma, this is only going to sting,"  
"What's going to sting?"  
Akane brought the mallet down on Ranma's head. She hit him with such force that he ended up crashing down into the floor. The girls stared in shock as Ranma lay motionless on the floor.  
"God, you're probably the most sadistic person I have ever seen to be able to do that to someone you care so much about," Ritsuko commented.  
Akane smirked slightly, "Hey, I'm only doing this cause I care for him,"  
"I'd hate to wonder what you would do to someone you don't care about," Misato said.  
"Ha ha, real funny," Akane muttered, her mallet resting on one of her shoulders. She walked up to Ranma and helped him to his feet.  
Ranma moaned as he got to his feet, "Man, what hit me?"  
Akane looked at Ranma, "Are you okay?"  
"Um, I think so," he said softly, "It feels like I was run over by a truck,"  
"I have a question," Akane said, "Are you a guy or a girl?"  
"A guy of course," he replied, strightening himself, rubbing his neck, "Why?"  
The girls seemed to cheer, "All right, he's back to normal,"  
"Do you remember anyone here?" Akane asked.  
Ranma surveyed his surroundings. He glanced over everyone in the room, "No, I don't recognize anyone,"  
"Well, it seems Ranma don't recognize you so it seems we're back at square one," Akane commented.  
Ranma turned his gaze toward Akane.  
"And who might you be?"

old stuff

"Ranma,"  
Ranma turned around to face Asuka, "Yes, Asuka?"  
"Um, there's something I wanted to tell you, but I never really had the chance," she began slowly, choosing her words carefully. She watched as Ranma sat down in a nearby chair, giving her his full attention.  
"What is it ya wanted to talk to me about?" he asked softly. "Well, this is kinda hard to say," she said, putting her hands in her pockets. If they were out, whe would probably be twiddling her thumbs from the nervousness she was feeling. "Anyway, I know you don't remember this, but I'm still going to tell it to you anyway. A little over a year ago, you accidentally ended up in my world,"  
"Yeah, I remember Akane having told me that. What about it?"  
"Just hear me out," Asuka said, "Anyway...um...while on that world we met, and although we started out on the wrong foot, I never really got around to telling you how much I, um, appreciated you having been there,"  
"Um, sure. Um, I'm glad I could've helped you out back then," Ranma said.  
Asuka stood up, her brows creasing, clearly showing anger toward Ranma as she said, "You have no idea what the hell I'm talking about. That's so damn typical of you! You're such an asshole!"  
"W-what did I do?" he asked innocently. He didn't know if he did something wrong or not. But from the looks of things, and the way Asuka glared at him with anger filled eyes, it seemed that he had indeed done something wrong.  
"You saved my life back on the other world," Asuka spat out, "There I said it. You happy?"  
"Um..."  
"What do you want me to say?" she nearly shouted, throwing a magazine toward Ranma, almost hitting him with it.  
"Why're you so angry at me? What the hell did I ever do to you?" he asked, almost getting angry at Asuka. Why didn't she just tell him why she was angry at him? If he knew what was wrong, maybe he would be able to fix the problem.  
"Can't you goddamn tell? Can't you goddamn tell that I'm in lov..." Asuka stopped in mid sentence. She couldn't believe what she had just been about to say. She would never say those words. Never. Especially toward someone like Ranma.  
"That you're what?" he asked. He didn't hear that last sentence.  
"You're such an asshole!" she shouted at him, "You're doing that on purpose, to embarrass me!"  
"Huh? What the hell do you mean by that? How am I trying to embarrass you?" he asked, feeling this slight sense of anger rising. He leaned forward in his chair and sighed as he looked toward the floor and added, "Jeez, why the hell do all you women have to be so damn cryptic?"  
"You're such an asshole, Ranma!" Asuka shouted at him.  
Ranma's brows creased as he nearly shouted back and said, "Fine, I'm an asshole!" He got up off the chair and proceeded to leave the room but stopped when he heard a sniffle coming from behind him. It sounded like Asuka was trying to fight back tears. When he turned around and looked at her, he realized his assumption was correct. Although Asuka had been looking down at the ground, the bangs of her hair covering her face, he could sense that she was on the brink of breaking down into tears.  
"Asuka..." he said softly, taking a step forward.  
"Stay the hell away from me!" she snapped, her anger spilling forth.  
"Goddamnit! You're driving me nuts! What the hell is your problem? If you hate me, fine! So be it! But don't expect it to make me lose any sleep at night!"  
Asuka, unable to fight back the tears, began sobbing. However, she didn't allow Ranma the pleasure of seeing her break down in front of him for she managed to leave the room and run upstairs and into her bedroom. Ranma remained downstairs, staring at the door that Asuka used to leave the room. "What did I do?"

Ranma was eating an apple when Shinji walked into the livingroom.  
"Oh, hi, Shinji," he said, "How did your sparring session with Asuka go this morning?"  
Shinji was busy wiping the sweat off his forehead with a towel as he said, "Not too good. She got me good. Real good. I couldn't even land a single blow, much less defeat her. It was as if she was trying to rip my head off,"  
Ranma shrugged his shoulders, "Well, she did seem a bit angry for some reason. I think she was angry at me, but I really don't know what I did that made her like that. She wouldn't tell me. It's like one of those 'If you don't know, then I'm not gonna tell you' cryptic lines that they give to drive us insane,"  
Shinji chuckled, "Well, I'm glad your sense of humor hasn't changed a bit,"  
"Look, I'm fine," Ranma said, "All I got was a little memory loss. No big deal,"  
"Yeah, but you lost, what, sixty, no, close to seventy years worth of memories lost," Shinji commented, "I mean, that's quite a bit, at least in my opinion,"  
Ranma was silent. Sixty plus years worth of memories lost did seem like quite a bit. But what could Ranma do about it? Nothing. He could only take things in strides. Since he could do nothing about his memory loss, all he could do is hope everyone could cope with it, which seems like they were...except Asuka for some reason he couldn't really tell why.  
"Um, h-how's your eye?" Shinji asked, changing the subject.  
"Gone. What else could I say?" came a rather tart reply.  
"Why don't you get an artificial eye?" he dared asking. However, he knew he was going to receive the same answer Ranma gave everyone else.  
"I don't want it," Ranma said rather convinced.  
"Why not?"  
"I just don't!" Ranma said a bit louded. When he realized he shouldn't've snapped like that, he apologized. "I'm sorry. That had been uncalled for. I shouldn't've yelled at you. You were just curious," He sighed and thought for a moment before adding, "If you're really interested, then I guess I'll tell you. The reason why I don't want an replacement is that I have this extreme dislike of having something artificial in my body. I dunno why, but I just do,"  
"Um, b-but what about the metallic plate covering over the back of your head where the Spear had broken through?"  
"That, I needed," Ranma said, matter-of-factly, "But an eye, I do not,"

"It makes absolute sense!" Sylia told everyone, "Ranma doesn't want some artificial eye because, subconsiously, it would make him partially become what he loathes,"  
"Which is?" Misato asked. She and everyone else, sans Ranma, were gathered in the debriefing room of NeoNerv, Ranma in the control room standing watch.  
Priss snapped her fingers and said, "Shit! I think I know exactly what you mean! Ranma doesn't want it because he would become part boomer!"  
"Exactly," Sylia nodded.  
"Wait, but how could that be? Ranma retains no memories of when his town was burned to the ground, much less the boomers that had been used," Linna asked, leaning back in her chair, "That doesn't make sense. How could he dislike something he has no absolute recollection of?"  
"It's because he does have recollections," Sylia said, "Ranma's memory loss isn't absolute. That means there must be bits a pieces of his more recent memories that still linger, albeit in his subconsiousness. All we have to do is find some kind of way to bring his subconsious memories to his consiousness, and it might help jog his memories,"  
"You mean you want use to send boomers after Ranma in hopes of making it jog his memories?" Nene's eyes widened, "No! That's so cruel! Hasn't Ranma been through enough? Heck, it could make the memory loss even worse!"  
Everyone was silent. That was a possibility.  
Sylia turned toward Shinji, "Shinji, that's exactly what Ranma said, right? That he said he has an extreme dislike of having something artificial in his body?"  
Shinji nodded.  
"Well, becoming part boomer is definitely a good reason why he doesn't want an eye," Lisa said, "But how can it be possible that he doesn't even realize this yet be firm in his resolve?"  
Sylia said, "I believe I know Ranma better than that. I believe there is some way to jog his memories,"  
"Yeah, but we can't use boomers to get that to happen," Nene interrupted.  
"I know, 'because it's cruel'," Sylia finished for her, "However, there's got to be some simple kind of way to get him to remember everything without having to resort to extreme methods,"  
She looked around the room and asked,  
"Any suggestions?"

Lance is destroyed

Ranma had been sitting at his desk when Asuka entered his bedroom without knocking.  
"Hoping to catch me changing? Is that why you didn't knock?" he teased her, placing his pen down. He had been writing something.  
Asuka glared at Ranma and said, "And just how the hell do you expect me to knock when the door was wide open?" She hated the way Ranma could quickly anger her. One of these days, she would find a way to get revenge on Ranma, for all those aggrevating times she had to deal with him.  
He leaned back on his chair, the back of it resting against the front of the desk as he crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Well, what can I do for you?"  
"Um, I came to tell you that everyone's ready," she said, leaning against the doorjamb.  
"All right, I'll be down in a minute," he answered her.  
Asuka had noticed that Ranma had been writing something when she had entered. She asked, "What are you writing?"  
It took a short moment before Ranma said, "Oh, nothing much,"  
Shrugging her shoulders, realizing that she was now doing something Ranma constantly did, she turned around and left the room, "Well, whatever you're doing, hurry it up. Everyone's waiting for you,"  
"All right, I'll be right down," he replied, sighing.  
After a short moment, he turned back around and picked up his pen and began his writing again. So far, he had managed to write only a few sentences when Asuka had interrupted. He quickly wrote what had been on his mind, not really caring about his lack of grammar before he finally placed his pen down and hurried out of the room. But before he did, he carefully folded the letter up and placed it in one of the draws of his desk.

Everyone seemed to steal glances toward Ranma as he stood in front of the tombestone. It was unbelieveable how much time had already passed. Already, over a year had passed since Ranma had made it back home from that world where he had been born from Unit-01. Today was the second year anniversary of the true Ranma's death.  
"You okay Ranma?" Sylia asked, noticing how intent Ranma looked. He seemed to be simply staring at the tombstone, deep in thought, as if communicating with his younger self through silent means.  
Ranma nodded after a moment, "Yeah, I'm fine. But man, it's so weird. I can't believe how much time had passed. It's been over a year since I came back,"  
"A year and one day to be precise," Lisa said matter-of-factly.  
He chuckled slightly and said, "Yeah, I stand correctly,"  
"Would you like some time alone?" Priss asked. The tension in the air was almost tangible. It was perfectly understandable, what with Ranma visiting the grave of his younger self on the second year anniversary of his death.  
Ranma nodded.  
As everyone silently did as Ranma requested, they all gave him a gentle squeeze on his shoulder, silently telling him to simply hang in there, that life would go on, that he would soon get over this.  
Ranma stood in front of the tombstone for several moments before he said something.  
"You remember that promise I made last year? Well, we'll be soon seeing each other,"

"We have a pattern blue!" Linna said loudly, her voice echoing in the control room.  
Misato and the others were silent for a moment as they stared at the observation monitor. It showed that the incoming Angel was approaching NeoNerv from the west and fast.  
"There it is...the sixteenth Angel," Ritsuko said softly to Misato.  
"Damn," Misato said, her heart racing. She and Ritsuko had known this was going to happen sooner or later. Although quite a bit of time had passed, it still felt too early. They didn't have to guess when and where the final Angel would attack. They knew the final Angel would be Ranma.  
Ranma stood ontop of the usual building. However, today felt very different today. It felt strange to be the only one left, the only one remaining, to fight against the Angels. It felt strange to no longer have the others by his side, ready to fight along side him in their battle for humanity.  
"Ranma, we have a pattern blue," Misato's voice echoed from his communitcator.  
"I know," he said, "It's coming in from the west,"  
Priss turned toward Lisa and asked, "How does he know?"  
"Damn," Misato said softly.  
Ranma took a deep breath, "Well, here goes nothing,"  
He looked at the Lance of Longinus in his hands, "Well, you and I are the last ones remaining. You're going to be my salvation," His grip tightened on the weapon, his knuckles turning white, as he lept into the air and took to the skies, heading east to intercept the Angel.  
The control room with deathly silent as they stared at the screen, as the two dots inevitably got closer and closer to each other. The thought that Ranma and the Angel would be doing battle with each other was quite disturbing. Through the months, Ranma had help, yet he and the others had quite a bit of trouble defeating them. It wasn't until Unit-01 had been brought into this world did things turn in their favor. Also, the aquiring of the Spear of Longinus also helped. But it was totally ironic that Ranma had to use that same Spear to destroy the massive EVA, the same EVA that gave him life. In a sense, Ranma had been forced to kill his mother. However, he had managed to prevail. But now, would he be able to prevail again?  
Ranma met up with the Angel several miles away from his lookout point. Upon meeting the Angel, it came as quite a surprise to Ranma. He had been expecting to see and exact duplicate of himself, like he had when he fought all the Angels before. However, the Angel didn't at all look like Ranma. It looked like Saffron.  
It was the Saffron Angel.  
"You remember me?" the Angel smirked.  
Ranma's eyes narrowed. At first, he felt relieved to see Saffron, actually believing what he was seeing for a minute. Fortunately, it only took him a moment to realize that it wasn't Saffron because Ranma's very being was screaming at him, telling him that what was before him was an Angel.  
"You're back," Ranma said softly. It was actually quite ironic. Ranma had to fight someone that looked exactly like the person he had became friends with a few months back.  
The Angel nodded, "Yes, I am. I came to finish what I had started back then,"  
"Don't expect me a pushover anymore," Ranma sneered, "I am no longer the same weakling you fought against,"  
The Angel laughed, "On the contrary. You are the same pushover,"  
Ranma glared at the Angel, "And just what do you mean by that?"  
"Think...I'm still here," the Angel said, "You never managed to defeat me back then. You remember the world you left? It no longer exsists. Thanks to you, what with you borrowing the only so-called EVA that could ever possibly defeat me, you had left that world defenseless to stop me,"  
"W-what?" Ranma said, his eyes widening.  
"The world you left behind, shortly after you took the EVA from that world, had been left defenseless," the Angel smirked, "Because of you, that world no longer exists, all thanks to you,"  
"You're lying," Ranma said, feeling the anger rising within him.  
"Heh, you'll never know," the Angel said, "because you will die not knowing if I had been lying or not. That will be my present to you,"  
Ranma gritted his teeth. The Angel was lying. It had to be. However, what it had said did have some truth to it. If it was here, alive and well, then that meant it had survived...  
"Ranma, stay cool, it's lying," he heard Misato's voice, "It's trying to get your head clouded with anger,"  
"I-I know," Ranma said, fighting back his anger. "Come on, let's see how much you have improved since then," the Angel said.  
Before Ranma even had time to react, the Angel extended a hand forward and shot out a massive fireball, striking Ranma right in his chest, sending him hurtling down toward the ground below at horrendous speeds. The only thing that broke his fall from hitting the ground was a building. He ended up smashing through the front of a building at an odd angle, emerging from the back and slamming down onto the ground with deafening force, sliding to a halt, the Spear of Longinus no longer in his hands.  
The Angel hovered down low, "Come on. I thought you have improved over time. It is obvious that you have not,"  
Ranma slowly got to his feet. "Y-you'll pay for that," he said through clenched teeth. The impact had been so powerful that Ranma wings had been ripped right off his back when he had slid to a halt on the ground. His back was on fire, raw and bleeding. His AT field was not protecting him. That had been the tradeoff, that he had no AT flied when holding the Spear of Longinus.  
The Angel shot yet another fireball at Ranma, missing him by mere inches as Ranma managed to quickly jump out of the way, rolling to his feet, gritting his teeth because of the pain rolling on the ground had caused his back.  
"I have no intention of losing," Ranma said, taking a deep breath, his aura flaring, "I plan on finishing you off once and for all," He walked over to where the Spear lay and picked it up.  
The Angel smiled before it shot another fireball in Ranma's direction. This time, Ranma used the Spear to swat the fireball out of the way. The fireball ended up striking into a nearby building, utterly destroying it and the building behind it.  
"Ooh, I'm impressed," the Angel taunted, "You managed to deflect my blast,"  
Ranma sneered and said, "This battle is going to be very different. There are no longer innocent lives here to worry about. I don't have to worry about the welfare of others and you can't use that as an advantage against me. This time, you will find out just how hard it will be to kill me now that it's only you and I that are fighting,"  
He slowly walked over to where his wings lie and picked them up, attaching them back on his back.  
"Are you worried?" Ranma smirked, "I no longer need to hold back anymore,"  
"Ha, don't make me laugh," the Angel sneered.  
"Seppuku Mouko Takabisha!" Ranma shouted, shooting out a massive ki-  
blasts from his outstretched hands and toward the Angel, missing by a good several meters due to the Angel's quick reflexes and speed.  
"What a pathetic attempt," the Angel smirked.  
Ranma flew up into the air, Lance held tight in his hands, "No. That was the only blast that I was going to use on you," He held his the Spear forward and said, "I intend to stab this Spear right through you. I want you to be able to see my face as you die,"  
"What the hell is Ranma doing?" Misato said aloud within the control room, "He's going to get himself killed!"  
"My my, aren't we arrogant," the Angel continued to smirk, "You must be eager to die,"  
"Yes, I am," Ranma said, "but, this is where things get interesting. I have every intention of dying along with you in this battle,"

"W-what?" the Angel seemed surprised.  
Ranma looked at the Spear in his hands and said, "I know the myth behind the Spear of Longinus. I know that I am destined to die tragically,"  
"Oh my god, h-he knows!" Ritsuko gasped in horror as she listed to Ranma's voice. Everyone else was listening intently.  
"I also know that I will be the final Angel," he continued on.  
"W-what?" everyone in the control room said.  
"Everyone," Ranma said into the communicator, "I'm sorry. It had taken me a while to figure it out, but as I continued to fight, the Angels kept calling me Tabris. I finally realized that that name was that of the final Angel.

Rei discovers physical contact with Ranma created impenetrable AT field

Final battle

"Holy shit, you're not going to like this!" Linna said with a gasp as she looked at her screen.  
"What's wrong?" Misato asked. She noticed the color seemed to have drained from Linna's face. Seeing this gave her this odd feeling she was getting in the pit of her stomach.  
Priss, the one nearest to Linna, walked over to her friend's console and gave a peek. Her eyes widened at the sight before her. "What the?"  
"What?" Misato asked, exasperated now. She was already on edge and this didn't help.  
"T-the c-computer's reading nine pattern blues!" Linna answered.  
"What?" everyone else in the room seemed to say at once.

Ranma stood above his usual vatage point and knew something terrible was going to happen. He didn't know why, but he knew this was going to be the final and most deadly battle. "Ranma!" Misato's voice shouted through the communicator, so loud it made him wince.  
"What is it?" he asked.  
"T-there are nine Angel's heading directly toward your location," she said, "Each one is coming from a different direction.  
"What?"  
"Yes, the computer is reading nine pattern blues," came Sylia's voice, "They're all distictive patterns representing an Angel. I don't know what the heck is going on, but there are definitely nine Angels on their way,"  
Ranma swallowed the lump in his throat, "N-nine? And you expect me to stop nine Angels? How the hell am I gonna do that?" Looking toward the far off distance, almost beyond the horizon, Ranma could see a tiny speck in the clear background. The Angel was probably a hundred miles away but was coming in fast. About fiteen degrees off to that Angel's right and left were two other specks. At that distance, the Angel's were probably about a hundred miles apart from one another converging on one point, Ranma's location.  
"Ranma, you have to get away from there! You have enough trouble stopping one of them, let alone nine!" came Linna hysteric voice. Ranma could tell she was at the brink of tears.  
Taking a deep breath, Ranma knew that could never happen. He could not retreat. He had to fight. Too much depended on him, "I'm sorry. I can't. If I hafta fight nine at once, then so be it," Although he was severaly outnumbered in every which way, he had to fight, no matter what.  
"What're you going to do?" came Sylia's voice. She was already out of ideas. The situation seemed absolutely futile, utterly futile. To think that they had made it this close yet being so far away from achieving their goal. Rei left the control room.  
Ranma sigh, "What else can I do? I hafta fight,"  
He looked down at his hands. They were shaking from the forboding feeling coursing through his body. Although having been able to recover from his wounds from the previous battles, he knew that he was in no condition to take out all those Angels. In a one on one fight, perhaps, but even that was pushing it. This, however, he knew wasn't going to be a one on one fight.  
"Ranma, I want you to make a promise," came Akane's voice.  
"What promis would that be?" he asked.  
"Promis that you'll come back alive,"  
Ranma couldn't make that promise.

The Angels converged on Ranma's location within minutes. In those few minutes where Ranma kept radio silence, everyone had kept constant watch on the screen in the control room as the nine specks on the screen got closer and closer to Ranma's location. "This isn't fair," Ranma commented as he looked at the nine identical Ranma-looking Angels. The martial artist within his was screaming from knowing that he had opponents right behind him yet he was unable to see them all.  
"No, you did this upon yourself," an Angel said with a smirk. Everyone in the control room that heard the Angel's voice knew it sounded just like Ranma, but over all those months, they can simply sense which voice belonged to Ranma.  
"What do you mean?"  
"About a year ago, Adam came to you, right?" the Angel started off. It sounded rather calm and civilized.  
Ranma nodded, "Yeah, what about that?"  
"Do you remember what he said?"  
Ranma nodded again, "Yeah, he said this world was going to be tested and that you Angels were going to be attacking in exactly three months,"  
"No, Adam had said 'I am also a representation of the trials to come. You must prepare for it. Do whatever you could. Evacuate the city. Do whatever. The Angels will come to this city and attack you Ranma and only you,'"  
Ranma stopped for a moment. He recalled his other self having said specifically that. That last sentence made him realize something. "Waitaminute, you mean I was the one being tested?"  
The Angel smiled, "Yes. The only way we can be stopped is by you and only you. Have you noticed why there are nine of us? Well, we are the nine Angels you never managed to defeat. We are the nine Angels that you believed were defeated by your friends. We were momentarily brought back to the heavens to regenerate. Have you noticed why some of our brethren, the ones you defeated, seemed to have something special that the other Angels didn't, the Angels your friends defeated?"  
"Oh my god, the Angel's talking about the core!" Ritsuko said. Everything was starting to make sense. She had never picked up on it at first, but she had noticed certain Angels had cores while certain others didn't. It was just unfortunate that she realized this now.  
"If your task is to test me, then why do you try and cause an Impact?"  
"It was merely a secondary objective," the Angel said with a shrug, "We could easily have caused an Impact. Have you noticed why we bother to even stop to fight you when be could have ignored you and headed straight for Adam?"  
The muscles around Ranma's jaws tightened. He never realized it until now, but that was very true. "Yeah, but what about the Angels that almost made it through to Adam? If they were so intent on fighting me, then why did they try and go after Adam first?"  
"To lure you to them. It was just unfortunate that they were stopped by your friends," it replied, "But don't worry. This is going to be very very different. We were sent here to fight you and only you. We have no intention of reaching Adam anymore. Causing an Impact is no longer our concern. Our only concern now is to bring you back with us, whether by your own free will or by force. You do not belong here,"  
"D-did you hear that?" Akane said, turning toward the nearest person, whom happened to be Lisa. "So this world has been saved, afterall!" Lisa said, eyes wide.  
The thought was overwhelming. However, no one celebrated as they realized what the Angel had also said. The Angels wanted to bring Ranma back with them.  
Ranma regarded the Angel, "So that's it? The trials of this world is over?"  
The Angel nodded, "Yes. They are free to live on however way they wish. They are no longer a concern to us. You are,"  
Ranma's brows creased, "What about me? Aren't I free to do as I wish?"  
"Yes, you can chose to accept your fate and come with us, or go against us and be forced to fight if you wish to stay,"  
"Then I wish to stay here," Ranma said without a thought, "If I have to fight you all, then I will,"  
"Very well, then,"

'So this is how I die?'  
'So this is my fate, to die tragically while fighting for my humanity'  
'But it doesn't matter anymore. The world has been saved.'  
'If I die, then I will died with no regrets because I had used my life saving others.'  
'If I'm going to die, I will not die alone. I will bring as many Angels to oblivion with me as I can.'

Ranma took of a supersonic speeds toward the closest Angel, the one he had been talking to all this time. Before the Angel had a chance to react, Ranma shoulder rammed it right in the ribs, sending both the Angel and himself over the edge of the building.  
"Is that all?" the Angel smirked as it fell headfirst toward the ground below. The winds rushing by them was deafening and causing Ranma's ears to pop. However, as the two of them fell at thunderous speeds, Ranma wrapped his legs around the Angel's waist and let loose thousands upon thousands of punches at its face, none of his punches connecting due to the Angel's AT field.  
"Now it's my turn!" the Angel sneered. It extended a hand forward right into Ranma's chest and shot out a massive energy blast, sending him flying bodily into the building they had fallen off of. The blast had been so intense that Ranma emerged from the other side, spinning out of control before crashing through yet another building and coming to a stop after slamming into a third one.  
Ranma slowly got up to his feet, blood dripping down his chin. He keeled over a vomitted some blood and winced in pain as he realized his right shoulder had been dislocated. Gritting his teeth, he popped it back into place, screaming in excruciating pain.  
"I-I'll k-kill you!" he sneered, slowly getting back up.  
"Oh, you will?" came the Angel's voice.  
Ranma looked up and caught sight of yet another energy blast emerging from the hand just inches from his face. He was blown out through the back of that building, coming to a sliding halt on the ground a story below.  
"H-how the hell am I gonna stop them?" he said to himself as he lay on his back, looking straight up. He could see eight specks slowly beginning their descent from the top of the building. They formed a circle that made it look like circling vultures waiting for their prey to die.  
Ranma slowly got up to his feet and could hear footsteps coming from behind. He turned around and saw the Angel's outstretch hand. In a split second, he knew he would get stuck with yet another energy blast, so he quickly reached out and grabbed the outstretched hand and took a crouching step toward the Angel, bringing the Angel's arm downward with such force against his shoulder that the arm broke cleanly off at Angel's elbow, but not before Ranma's AT field flared bright red.  
The Angel let out a scream as Ranma realized the force of that attack had dislocated his shoulder again. Not even bothering to allow the pain to register, Ranma darted out two fingers right toward the Angel's throat, trails of red ripples emerging from Ranma's fingertips. The fingers dug right into the Angel's throat and out through the other side.  
Eyes wide, the Angel gazed down at Ranma, shocked that its AT field had failed it. It couldn't believe Ranma had managed to pierce through the AT field. It couldn't be broken through.  
With a hand jutting out the back of the Angel's throat, Ranma turned around and brought his hand over his head and downward in a wide arcing motion, bring the Angel along and slamming it headfirst into the concrete ground with such force it became embedded in it.  
The Angel's eyes was blank as it gazed up at Ranma, unable to believe its AT field had been penetrated by a physical attack just before it died.  
Ranma looked down at the Angel and then down at his bloodied hand. It didn't take him long to realize his AT field seemed to have negated the Angel's AT field, allowing him to land those techniques. However, Ranma was a long ways off from knowing eactly how he had managed to subconsiously call forth his AT field.  
He didn't have much time to think as the other eight Angels landed nearby, forming a cirlce around him. They all seemed to show a bit of shock at the sight of a defeated brethren.  
"W-who's next?" he said, breathing heavily.  
All eight Angel's looked at one another. A moment later, they all charged at Ranma.  
Ranma fought hard as he repelled the Angel's attacks. He was grateful that all the Angel's were attacking which meant none of them wanted to risk using an energy blast within such close proximity to their brethren. Ranma realized he was wrong when he saw an Angel extend a hand toward him.  
When the energy was released, Ranma deflected it toward a nearby Angel, the blast striking true and sending it flying bodily through the air and into a nearby building, the building collapsing down on it. Ranma knew that Angel would be out of the battle for a minute or so, but it was definitely not dead, not from a blast like that.  
Continuing on with the close-hand combat, Ranma found himself struggling to fight off all of his assailants but managed to make it easier on himself when he managed to reverse a punch intended toward his head, and executing an over-the-shoulder throw, breaking the Angel's arm in the process before slamming it into the ground in front of him.  
Ranma was momentarily shocked at having done that and that seemed to have left him open for he was struck in the face with such force he was sent backwards several hundred yards, sliding to a halt a few yars after crashing into the ground.  
Getting up to his feet, Ranma was slowly starting to understand what had happened. He had somehow pictured his AT field negating the Angel's own field just moments before the throw. When Ranma looked up, he saw an incoming energy blast coming straight toward him. But before he blast hit him, several red streaks emerged from his body and struck the blast, shattering the spherical ball into pieces.  
"What the?" he said. He seemed to have more control over his AT field than he thought.  
When the Angel hovered to where Ranma was, they didn't hesitate to rush at him. Once again, another multi-opponent battle ensued for Ranma. Ranma fought once again, surprised to find himself blocking a punch from that Angel he had broken the arm of. However, he was able to counterattack easily and landed a vicious open hand attack right into the Angel's chest, sending it flying backwards several hundred yards and slamming into the Angel emerging from the building that had collapsed upon it. Once again, Ranma had saw a red ripple for in front of his own hands right before he had hit the Angel.  
How the hell am I conjuring my AT field, he thought. I'm not even consiously calling it up.  
A short distance away, Rei continued to watch the battle, keeping close to the shadows.  
"So, you finally discovered the secret to the AT field," an Angel sneered, right before it darted out several fingertips right into Ranma's left shoulder.  
Ranma screamed out in pain as he realized the Angel had used its own AT field to neutralize his own. He felt down on one knee, grasping his bleeding shoulder, only to be kicked hard in the side and sent flying backwards a dozen or so yards. When he slid to a halt and looked up, he was shocked to be looking up at a familiar face. "R-Rei?" Ranma's eyes were wide, "W-what are you doing out here?"  
"Rei?" Misato said. She looked around in the control room. Rei was gone.  
"I came to help," she said in a soft voice.  
Ranma quickly got up to his feet, his heart beating rapidly. Rei would surely die if Ranma and the Angels battled it out over here. A building could collapse on here. A badly deflected energy blast would incinerate her. He had to get her out of here and to safety.  
Without saying a word, Ranma picked Rei up and made a run for it, hoping the Angels would have trouble finding him. Of course, he kenw that would not be true because the Angel would be able to sense where he was just like he them.  
"Ranma," Rei said softly, "I can help,"  
"H-how?" he said.  
"We can combine AT field," she said.  
Ranma paused for a moment. He remembered how he had discovered that the closer Rei was, the more powerful his AT field became. However, it was too dangerous, "I can't let you do that. It's my battle,"  
A massive energy blast emerged from behind and struck Ranma from behind as he was running. However, Ranma didn't even realize he had been hit until all the surrounding buildings exploded away from him. Turning around, he saw a huge crater right behind where he stood.  
"What the?" he said.  
He looked at Rei. He realized he wasn't effected because he had been holding Rei, as in physically touching her.  
"I can't do that, you can get hurt," he said. He didn't want Rei to get hurt, not over something as selfish as Ranma's wanting to stay on this world.  
"We won't get hurt," Rei said. She showed more emotions right now than ever.  
Gritting his teeth, he knew Rei was right. But still...  
Ranma caught sight of an energy and jumped in the nick of time just as the blast missed them by mere inches. The blast continued forward, destroying several building in its path before arcing upward and into the sky.  
"W-we'll be all right," Rei said. Her hands were grapsed firmly around the back of Ranma's neck, Landing softly on the ground, Ranma turned around to face the Angels. They had all caught up to him.  
"Don't expect to get away. We'll chase you to the ends of this world to bring you back with us," an Angel commented.  
"Damn," Ranma gritted his teeth.  
The Angels rushed Ranma. Since Ranma was carrying Rei, his agility was hindered. Fortunately, it took him several moments before he realized that he felt none of the punches even though he had been clearly struck.  
"Y-you're right, they can't hit us," Ranma commented.  
Rei continued to hold onto Ranma tightly.  
Ranma executed simple low roundhouse but the Angel he was attacking skillfully jumped back out of the way. He was shocked to see a massive red streak of light emerging from his foot and travelling through the air and struck the Angel. Even more shocking was that the Angel's leg was cleaved right off its hip as the streak continued forward, cleaving through several buildings.  
"Oh shit," Ranma said, shocked. After a moment, it started to register how powerful his AT field became when he was in contact with Rei. He looked at Rei and his heart skipped a beat as he realized she was breathing heavily. "R-Rei, are you all right?"  
Rei said nothing. Her eyes were closed as she continued to hold onto Ranma. When the other Angels attack, Ranma jumped high into the air and landed on a nearby building, jumping to safety when the building was struck with an energy blast. As he jumped from building to building, he could hear the Angels slowly catching up.  
"Rei," Ranma said, "Speak to me! Are you all right?"  
Some blood trickly from Rei's lips as she said, "I-I'm f-fine,"  
It didn't take long for Ranma to realize that Rei was becoming weaker and weaker everytime he resorted to using their combined AT fields. It seemed like a trade-off. For an impenetrable AT field, Rei would get weaker and weaker with every passing use of it.  
"Oh shit!" Ranma said. Then and there, Ranma knew that he could not use the AT field, otherwise, something bad could happen to Rei. He then heard the Angels stopping behind him.  
Ranma turned around and extended a hand forward and shot out hundreds of ki-blasts, his other hand holding Rei safely in his arms. The ki-  
blasts levelled the building the Angels had been on. The Angels had easily jumped to saefty.  
"

Ranma gets mortally wounded

Ranma's eyes widened as he saw the Lance of Longinus protruding from his chest, his blood flowing freely down its tip. Only one thought went through Ranma's mind as he looked down as his lifeblood spewing forward from his body. He knew he had just been fatally wounded, that his heart had just been punctured and he would die in a matter of moments.  
"Enough is enough," the Angel said, pulling the Lance back out of Ranma's body, casually walking around. It smirked as Ranma gazed up at it with unbelieving eyes.  
"H-how did you?" Ranma said, blood flowing from his mouth.  
The Angel guestured toward the other Angels. They all seemed to nod before extending a hand forward where the Lance of Longinus seemed to grow our from their palms.  
"Each and every one of us simply recreated an exact replica of the Lance," the Angel answered.  
Ranma smirked slightly.  
"What's so funny?"  
"You know the myth behind the Lance? It states that those that wield the Lance is destined to die a tragic fate," he said.  
"That is true. Since you have wielded the Lance, you will die a tragic death," the Angel smirked back, "You will die by the same weapon that he destined you to death,"  
"Have you forgotten something?"  
"What might that be?"  
"It was something I have learned a while ago. AT fields don't work when you hold it," he said, "You will all die along side me,"  
"Ranma, no! Don't!" Akane's voice emerged from the communitcator.  
"I'm sorry, everybody..." Ranma's voice echoed into the control room.  
The room plunged into total silence, such silence that even the rapid heartbeats of the individuals within the room could be heard. They all watched the screen, not knowing what to do. They all watched as Ranma extended a hand forward toward the ground before him. The silence lasted for only a moment, a split second, because it was broken by Ranma's voice.  
"Seppukku Mouko Takabisha!"  
NeoNerv shook violently as the whole upper surface bubbled downward, glowing red from the intense heat. The bubble continued to grow larger and larger before it finally gave way as the massive explosion from the surface finally punctured into the underground GeoFront. Everyone within NeoNerv Headquarters gave out a yelp of surprise from the violent shaking.  
"Ranma!" Akane shouted out as she looked at the screen just mere moments before it went blank.  
Everyone screamed out Ranma's name, tears immediately flowing.  
In the surface above, the massive sphere of pure energy continued to grow larger and larger, enveloping and destroying all of MegaTokyo and its surrounding cities. The metallic outter surface of NeoNerv shuddered and started to melt from the shear heat of being within such close proximity of the blast, despite still being miles underground and away from ground zero of the explosion.  
The skies parted as the explosion continued to expand and even reaching the heavens, consuming everything in its path, even the helpless Angels in its path. This blast was unlike any blast any other. As the sphere continued to glow, red ripples could be seen on its surface as AT fields were simply absorbed into it. Somehow, Ranma had used his own AT field to add to the shear destructive power of his blast.  
When the blast grew to be several miles wide in diameter, it slowly started to shrink before it collapsed in on itself, creating a blackhole-like vacuum, sucking in all the fine powder that remained of what used to be MegaTokyo, suching in even though clouds above before it disappeared, leaving behind an extremely large crater on the ground, another creater within that one that led to the GeoFront below. At the right angel, NeoNerv could be seen.  
After that, everything was silent.

Akane was the first to emerge from the devestated NeoNerv and out to GeoFront where the light from the sun above could be seen shining in through the mile wide opening of what used to be a ground.  
"Ranma! Ranma!" she seemed to scream. Everyone else was only a few meters behind her, following her lead. They were all left behind in Akane's wake as Akane drove her body way beyond its limit and lepted up toward the opening above her. She didn't care anymore what happened to her body, as long as she was able to make it to the surface where she knew Ranma was. She didn't have time to make it to the surface the long way. She had to see Ranma. He was alive. She knew it and had to be by his side.  
Landing by the edge, the huge opening to GeoFront just behind her, Akane quickly made her way up the craters edge. She didn't even bother to gaze down at the nine piles of goo that used to be the Angels. She knew those Angels were no more. She didn't even have to look for where Ranma was because she could sense exactly where he was. Although he had been at ground zero when that explosion had occurred, he had been blown well over a mile away.  
She ran that mile in mere seconds. When she arrived at the scene, she had to stop to gasp as she caught sight of Ranma.  
Ranma lay on his side, his back toward Akane. Blood could bee seen spewing from the huge wound in his back, the already massive puddle of blood continuing to expand. But it wasn't the sight of Ranma that caused her tears to flow freely. It was the sight of Ranma's body twitching as he tried desperately to sit up, as if wanting to be sitting upright when Akane arrived to meet him. But this time, his body wasn't responding. It looked like he was reaching out toward some invisible object, unable to grasp it.  
Akane quickly ran forward and knelt down next to Ranma, gently sitting him upright and leaning him against her, his head resting against the crook of her neck and shoulder.  
"A-Akane..." Ranma said weakly, his eyes closed. He knew he had been blinded in the shear brilliant of the blast and would never see again.  
"P-please, don't talk, Ranma," Akane pleaded, rocking back and forth, knowing full well that Ranma could not see her. All he could do was sense her, "Please, don't t-talk. You're going to be fine..."  
Ranma slowly reached a hand up and placed it against Akane's, Akane giving it a good squeeze to let the blinded Ranma know that she was right there beside him.  
"I-I'm g-gonna be fine..." he said weakly.  
"P-please, don't talk," she pleaded. With every word Ranma spoke, she knew he was closer to death. "A-are the Angels d-destroyed?"  
"Please, Ranma! Don't talk!" she sobbed into his chest, her hair becoming matted with his blood.  
"D-don't w-worry about m-me. I-I'll b-be fine. A-are they d-  
destroyed?"  
"Y-yes, Ranma. They've been destroyed, all thanks to you," Akane answered him, hoping it was enough to get him to shut up and conserve his energy.  
"T-that's good to hear,"  
Akane's eyes widened as she felt Ranma's body go limp in her arms.  
"N-no...no...no," Akane said between sobs, gently rocking Ranma, hoping to wake him up, "Ranma...Ranma...wake up...wake up!"  
She felt Ranma's hand loosen its grip over hers. A second later, it fell down to his side as his whole body slumped against Akane's.  
"I-I'm g-glad I-I had an AT field," Ranma mustered the words, "I-it allowed me t-to survive l-long enough to s-say 'Goodbye',"  
Ranma died in Akane's arms.  
"Ranma!"

Sylia and the others arrived where Ranma and Akane were within minutes. They had all followed Akane's footprints since the city had been turned to a fine dust and her footprints in the dust was very evident. When they arrived, their worst fears had come true. As they got closer and closer, they could see Akane desperately shaking Ranma to wake up.  
"Ranma, w-wake up," she said between tears, "W-wake up! Please...please...wake up,"  
But Ranma would not stir. He would not awaken.  
Asuka rushed forward, grabbing one of Ranma's hands, "Ranma! W-wake up..."  
Priss, trying to act tough, walked up to Ranma, knelt right next to him, giving him a gentle slap in his cheek, "Yo, Ranma, wake up," However, her tough gal act quickly disappeared as Priss realized how cold Ranma's skin felt to her touch. Tears started to flow as she sobbed, "C'mon, Ranma...w-wake up...R-Ranma?"  
Sylia walked over to and also knelt beside Ranma, placing a finger by Ranma's neck and feeling no pulse. When she turned around to face the others, seeing their expectant gaze, she was unable to hold back her emotions as she soon started to sob as she said, "I-it's no good..."  
"Wake up, you baka!" Asuka seemed to cry the most, almost shaking him violently now.  
In the back of the group, the person that seemed to take it worst was Rei. She continued to gaze down at the ground. Even she was unable to hold back the tears. Her hands were clenched. The saddness enveloping her was so overwhelming that she had to sit down on the ground as she gazed at Ranma's still form.  
"It seems the myth was true. The wielder of the Lance had died a tragic fate," she said softly.  
Without saying another word, Rei turned around and headed back for NeoNerv.  
"Rei, w-where are you going?" Linna asked. She was the first one to notice this.  
"Back,"

Rei stood only a few yards in front of the gravestone.  
"Rei, what do you think you're doing?" Sylia asked. She had been the only one to have left the mourning group to follow Rei to where ever she had headed. It didn't take her long to realize that Rei was intent on coming into contact with Adam.  
"I wish to bring Ranma back," Rei said softly, not bothering to turn around.  
Sylia paused for a moment. She was very tempted to let the young girl do what she wanted, which could perhaps bring Ranma back.  
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that,"  
"Ranma has died twice already," Rei commented, tears threatening.  
Sylia said nothing. That was very much true.  
"I don't wish to go through that again," Rei said. Without saying another word, she extended a hand forward and the ground began to rummble, causing Sylia to almost lose her footing.  
Sylia took a step forward to grab a hold of Rei's shoulder but was stopped when this invisible red barrier formed in front of her, leaving her only able to watch as Rei got closer and closer to the gravestone. "P-please, stop!"  
The ground in front of Rei seemed to open up as the casket emerged from the ground and floated up into the air. The sight made Sylia's heart skip a beat a she realized she was witnessing one of the AT field's many uses.  
"I'm sorry, Sylia-san," Rei said softly, "But I wish to be with Ranma,"  
"So do I...but..."  
Rei ignored Sylia. With a sweep of her arm, the casket seemed to explode outwards, shrapnel shooting everywhere except in Rei and Sylia's direction. When the smoke cleared, Sylia's jaw dropped as she realized she was staring at Adam, which was Ranma's former self.  
Adam looked at Rei for several long moments.  
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. Rei nodded.  
"No! Don't!" Sylia shouted out, "Don't let her do this, Ranma!"  
Adam turned toward Sylia and smiled slightly, "I'm sorry, Sylia, but I can not. I no longer have control of my fate or anyone elses. If she chooses this, then I hafta oblige,"  
"Y-you're not the Ranma I know," Sylia commented.  
Adam gazed directly at Sylia before nodding and saying, "I know,"  
"Why?" she nearly snapped.  
"I've come to terms that I had died," he answered her softly, "But I will never regret having died saving someone else," He turned toward Rei and extended a hand toward her, "Rei, keep this in mind, everyone's fate will be in your hands once we come in contact,"  
"I am aware of that," she said softly, "That is why I wish to do what I wish,"  
"Why would you let this happen?" Sylia said, "You said it yourself! Coming in contact with her would cause this so-called 'Third Impact'!"  
Adam sighed, "I'm sorry. I have no say in what she does," He looked at Rei and smiled warmly, "I just hope she knows what she's doing," He extended a hand forward for Rei to take hold of.  
Rei stepped forward and took hold of Adam's hand.  
"I'm home,"

ranma's letter is discovered

Over a year had passed since the second Ranma had died, when Rei had disappeared, when Sylia had been found unconsious in front of the empty gravesite that used to belong to the first Ranma with no memory of how she had gotten there.  
Everything had changed since then, since the 'Angel Wars' as the public had called. It seems that shortly after the second Ranma's death, word have finally gotten around as to what he and the others had been up to all this time. Of course, the media had had a field day ripping the Japanese military apart for their incompetence at defeating Ranma during the days of midunderstanding.  
When MegaTokyo had been totally destroyed during the final battle of the 'Angel Wars', it set way for a newer, better city to be built in its place. The new capital, when it was finally created, would be called Nerima, thanks to the suggestion of one of the 'Angel War' heroes, Akane Tendo. The public had found it rather odd that the new capital would be given the same name as the town that had been destroyed well over a decade ago, an incident very much evident in everyone's minds.  
Although heroes from the 'Angel Wars', Akane and the others didn't feel like heroes. They weren't the heroes. The ones that sacrificed everything were the heroes. Ranma was definitely the hero from the 'Angel Wars', not them. Shortly after they had been recognized for their part in the 'Angel Wars', Akane and the others had went their own ways. Akane had stayed behind to live in the new home erected in the soon-to-  
be capital city of Nerima. It didn't take long before more houses were erected and then a school. Asuka and Shinji had remained with her since Akane seemed to act like their guardian and they were still young and didn't really have anywhere to go. Misato and Ritsuko and Lisa had moved up north to Hokkaido where they started their own business since their other one had burned down to the ground along with the rest of MegaTokyo. On occasion, they would come south and visit Akane and the two children, but they never visited for long since visiting the town brought back unwanted memories.  
Nene, having found out that she no longer had a job, what with the entire AD Police headquarters being destory in the ki-blast, had decided to move up to Hokkaido also. She had landed a job as a dispatcher and had moved up the ranks within no time. Before the year's end, she was already a seargant.  
Priss had continued on her career as a singer, becoming the number one idol singer in no time. Linna had become one of the most successful stockbroker, but had maintained her joy of being an aerobics instructor and continued to teach. Sylia and used her remaining inheritence to build a brand new 'Silky Doll' several cities north of Nerima and continued to manage it till this day. Madigan and Carper had settled up in Hokkaido, enjoying the peace and quiet and spending their time raising Jun. On occasion, they would come down to visit Akane and the three children. They seemed to keep in constant contact with Lisa, Misato, and Ritsuko since they didn't like all that far apart.  
All that remained that was unaccounted for was Rei, whose whereabouts were unknown.

On the other world, a large flash of light signified Akane's appearance. It just so happened that the Misato of that world had been standing out on one of the platforms. It just so happened that it had been the exact same platform where Ranma had hovered away from shortly before he disappeared back to his home world.  
Misato had been shielding her eyes from the bright light when Akane landing quietly in front of her.  
"W-who are you?" Misato asked, regarding Akane, not recognizing her. She had recognized the bright light, which was the exact brilliance as that of Ranma's appearance and disappearance. When the light disappeared, Akane was standing before her. About a hundred or so meter behind her, well beyond the platform, was Unit-01.  
Akane didn't say anything for a moment. She couldn't believe that this was a different Misato. It looked exactly like her. If the Misato she knew and the one standing before her stood side by side, Akane would not be able to tell which one was that one she knew.  
Misato continued to regard Akane, "Who are you?"  
"I-I'm Akane," she responded after a moment, "I-I'm here to bring Unit-01 back,"  
"Y-you're from the other world, aren't you?" Misato asked. It wasn't until then did she realize that Unit-01 was behind Akane. Because of the height of the platform, she was basically looking at Unit-01 from its shoulder and up.  
Akane nodded and said, "Yes. I am,"  
"The world Ranma's from, huh?"  
Akane nodded. She found her emotions starting to welt up after hearing Ranma's name.  
"Where's Ranma? I thought he was going to bring Unit-01 back,"  
Akane bit her lower lip. It was a lot harder to keep her emotions in control than she thought. Misato had noticed this and didn't like the look of it.  
"Did everything go okay? Did you guys repel the Angels that Ranma said was attacking your world?"  
Akane took a deep breath. She knew this was going to come as big a blow to Misato as it had been to her, when she had held Ranma when he had said goodbye.  
"Yes, we repelled all the Angels, every last one of them...but,"  
Misato found a lump forming in her throat, "But what?"  
"Ranma had died in the process..."

"You've got to be kidding me," Ritsuko nearly shouted. She and Akane and the others were gathered around in the debriefing room of Nerv Headquarters. Akane had just told what she had told Misato to the others.  
Akane shook her head, "I'm sorry,"  
"H-how?" she asked.  
"He...he sacrificed himself," Akane said, still surprised she was able to hold back the tears, "It seems the Angels we thought we destroyed hadn't been destroyed at all. Because we never destroyed their cores, they regenerated and eventually came back. In the end, all the ones where we never destroyed their cores, came back and teamed together against us,"  
"So how did you manage to stop the Angels?" Misato asked.  
"They had somehow found a way to replicate the Spear of Longinus," Akane answered softly, "However, Ranma had been aware that the Spear negated an Angel's AT field so used his ultimate technique, his Seppuku blast. Unfortunately...he died taking the Angels with him,"  
The entire room was silent.

Akane gazed out the window. Shinji was also gazing out another window. It was a rainy weekend and Akane didn't feel like doing anything. She was sure the rain didn't stop Asuka from going out since she wase pretty popular. That was why it was strange to her when she saw Asuka coming down the stairs, dressed in her usual attire, not the same kind of attire she would wear when she went out.  
"How come you're not going out tonight?" Akane had to ask.  
Asuka shrugged her shoulders. She realized she had to stop doing that because Ranma used to do that and it reminded her of him. "I didn't feel like it," she said, "And Stupid Shinji here is staying home because he has no friends to hang out with,"  
"I do not!" Shinji snapped, "I just happen to like staying home!"  
"We both know you're still mourning Ranma's death, but it's been over a year," Akane said softly, "We should go on with our lives,"  
"And do what?" Shinji asked.  
"I don't really know," Akane said softly.

Asuka was gazing out the window one rainy night of her second story bedroom. She hadn't felt like doing anything. A year had passed since Ranma's death, yet she still felt sad every aytime she thought about him. Not that she really thought about him mind you.  
When a bright flash of light appeared over the backyard of the house, Asuka had been forced to shield her eyes from the brilliance. When the white spot randomly appearing in front of her disappeared, she squinted her eyes toward the backyard where she saw a lone figure. The figure stood out in the pouring rain, seemingly looking down at the koi pond.  
Asuka continued to watch the figure, letting her eyes adjust to the dark outside. When her eyes finally adjusted, she finally realized who the figure was. It was Ranma!  
Upon this realization, Asuka rushed downstairs and out into the backyard, lunging into Ranma's arms.  
"I knew you'd come back! I knew it!"  
"Um, I-I'm glad to hear that,"  
Asuka's eyes widened. That wasn't Ranma's voice. It was...  
"Ryoga?" Asuka looked up.  
Ryoga gave her a weak smile, "Hello, Asuka. Long time no see,"  
Asuka fell to her knees, "I-I thought...I thought y-you were Ranma..." Tears started to flow from her eyes, diluted by the rain as it fell onto the ground.  
Ryoga knelt down next to Asuka. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. He was a bit amazed at how much Asuka had grown over the years. He hadn't been home in close to two years. He hadn't seen her since that day she had asked him how one could go about using the nanban mirror. Although he hadn't been on this world, he was well aware that two years on this world had passed. For him, he had lived on another world for close to five years.  
"I'm sorry, but I'm not Ranma," Ryoga said, "He's been dead for over two years,"  
Asuka looked down at the ground, "N-no. H-he's been dead for only a year...I've been hoping he was going to come back...like he did last time,"  
Ryoga looked at Asuka curiously, "W-what? What do you mean by 'came back'?"  
"Ryoga? Is that you?" came Akane's voice. She was standing by the back entrance, out from under the rain.  
He looked up at Akane, "A-Akane,"  
He was about to walk over to Akane to hug her. He had missed her so much. However, Asuka seemed visibly distraught, so he had choosen to stay by her side and comfort her.  
"Asuka, come on, let's go inside," Ryoga said, "You're going to catch a cold,"  
Asuka sniffed and said, "O-okay," It was weird that her emotions were so rampant. It had been over a year since Ranma's death, yet she was cry and every bit as sad when she had first found out he had never survived that seppukku blast.  
Together, she and Ryoga headed into the house. Ryoga was back.

New stuff 5/29

Ryoga had been told of all that had occurred when he had been away those past two years. As he sat on the couch in the livingroom and listened, it had come as quite a shock. He had initially felt guilty that he had not been there to help Ranma out through such an ordeal but he had had his own problems in trying to get back to this world in the first place. That was a whole other story.  
Asuka seemed to show some hidden hostility toward Ryoga, believing that something like this wouldn't had happened if Ryoga had been there by his side to help Ranma and the others out.  
She seemed to continuously glare at him.  
"What?" Ryoga turned toward Asuka, "What do you want me to say? I'm sorry I haven't been around to help out but I got stuck on another world and couldn't get back. I've been stuck on that world for over five years,"  
"Still," Asuka was having none of that.  
Ryoga sighed. It was useless to argue against the young girl. No, make that young woman.  
"It's nice that you're back though," Shinji commented, "I was beginning to wonder what had happened to you,"  
Akane smiled, "There's no real need to worry about Ryoga here. He can take care of himself,"  
Ryoga blushed, "T-thanks,"  
As they were about to continue to on with the explanation, bright rays of light filtered through the open windows. Everyone within the room had been forced to shield their eyes from the brilliance.  
"What the heck was that?" Ryoga asked, getting up to his feet. Everyone else was a bit disoriented.  
Ryoga knew the light had come from backyard so he rushed out to see what had caused it. He came to a skidding halt when his gaze came upon three shadows standing in the middle of a circle ten feet in diameter. The circle was lit with fire, the grass in the backyard burning brightly despite the rain.  
His eyes narrowed as Ryoga regarded the three shadows. The rain and the barely lit moon wasn't providing enough light for him to get a good look at the visitors.  
All he could see was a fairly tall shadow that stood at around his height and two others by that person's side, both of them no taller than the main figure's shoulders. The shadows being created by the outter walls behind those three figures made it hard for Ryoga to tell who they were or what they were.  
Asuka, Akane, and Shinji came out into the backyard, standing only a short distance behind Ryoga.  
"What's going on?" Asuka asked Ryoga's back.  
Ryoga continued to regard the shadows cautiously as the tallest shadow started taking steps forward. Ryoga stood in a passive stance, ready to defend himself and counter attack if the shadows were another one of those 'Angels' he had been told about.  
Everyone's eyes widened when the tallest figured stepped out of the shadows and into the light seeping forward from the open door of the house. It was Ranma.  
"Hello," he smiled warmly.  
"R-R-Ranma?" everyone seemed speechless.  
Ranma continued to smile, glad he was finally home. He was going to have one heck of a time explaining the adventure he had been on before finally making back home. To everyone, it probably looked as if he had died and just come back to life, but that was not the case.  
He smirked at Ryoga, "Ryoga, we finally meet again,"  
"R-Ranma," all he could do was studder.  
Asuka, her tears starting to flow, abandonned herself to run forward and into Ranma's arms, "Ranma! It really is you!"  
"Who the hell are you?" one of the two shadows stepped forward. When the shadow came into the light, it revealled a young looking girl around Asuka's age. She had long flowing hair of the same fiery color as Asuka's.  
"I was about to ask the same thing!" Asuka snapped, challenging the stranger.  
Ranma stepped forward and held a hand forward between the two of them, "Now now. No need for the two of you to fight," It only took a moment before he realized he had accidentally held his hands out and placed them on the wrong part of the female anatomy. He had had one hand on Asuka's chest and the other hand other the other female's chest.  
Ranma, knowing he was going to get the beating of his life, had decided to go for broke. He turned toward Asuka and said, "Gee, Asuka, you seemed to have grown up quite nicely since the last time I saw you,"  
Asuka quickly pulled away, clutching at her chest, her face beet-red. Although she would have slapped Ranma with all her might, she felt flattered by the comment and her feelings of anger was clashing with her feelings of relief that he was finally back.  
"Ranma! How dare you!" the third shadow stepped forward to slap Ranma in his cheek. Asuka and the others got a good look at the person. It was a beautiful young girl around the same age as the other girl. She had beautiful flowing brown hair. She was clad in tradition ninja attire but was wearing nothing that would otherwise conceal her lovely face. Her face seemed to be twisted into that of jealousy and anger at the moment though.  
"Whatcha do that for?" Ranma turned toward the ninja girl.  
"Ranma! How dare you die on me!" came Ryoga's rage driven voice. Ryoga had been deeply hurt when Ranma had died in the hospital. Because of that, he had actually gone out looking for a way to bringing him back, only to end up on some foreign world where he had been stuck for five years. "Huh?" turned toward Ryoga.  
"If you didn't die, I wouldn't have gone through what I had gone through!" Ryoga sneered. His battle aura grew a brilliant shade of red, his hands clenched into fists.  
The red-haired girl stood in front of Ryoga, seemingly unafraid of the angered man, "What do you think you're doing?"  
A second later, the ninja girl stood in front of Ryoga also, "You leave my Ranma, alone,"  
"Your Ranma?" Asuka and the red-haired girl shouted in unison, both of them looking at the ninja girl. They then all turned their attention toward Ranma. Akane and Shinji and Ryoga were also regarding him, waiting for an explanation.  
All he did was shrug, "Hey, it's a long story,"  
"That still doesn't explain the fact that you died!" Ryoga snapped. He took a step toward Ranma, his aura still burning brightly, "You're gonna pay for what I had gone through!"  
The red haired girl shouted for Ryoga to back off, trying to shove Ryoga backwards but failing. It felt like pushing an immovable object.  
"What kinda man are you, letting females protect ya?" he taunted.  
"What the hell didja say?" Ranma found himself getting angry. Although he had been glad to see Ryoga, he was starting to think otherwise. Ryoga was Ryoga afterall. He was only tolerable in small doses. Being in each other's company for over a minute seemed to be the limit.  
"You heard me!" Ryoga taunted, "I'm gonna teach a lesson for making me go throught all the crap I went through! How dare you die!"  
"What kinda insane logic is that?" Ranma muttered, not backing down, "However, if you really believe you can teach me a lesson, give me your best shot!"  
The ninja girl and red haired girl took a cautious step back, shocked at actually seeing Ranma angry. It was not a comfortable sight. Asuka, Shinji, and Akane seemed unbothered, the three of them knowing that Ranma and Ryoga never got along. However, this bickering was a bit uncalled for. Ranma and Ryoga hadn't seen each other in years. They should at least catch up on the times and explain their stories before trying to kill each other.  
Ryoga took off the backpack, cracking his knuckles.  
Ranma stood defiantly, "You're in for a surprise. I'm not the same person you know from two or so years ago. I've grown quite a bit over the years,"  
"And so have I," Ryoga smirked.  
"Um, I don't know who you are," Akane said in a tentative voice to the two females, "And I have no idea what your relationship to Ranma is, but it's obvious you're not our enemies,"  
The two females turned toward Akane, all three of them seemingly coming to a silent agreement.  
"However," Akane added, "It looks like your friend Ranma and Ryoga here are going to fight. It could get ugly so it's best you stand out of the way,"  
The two females looked at each other before they quickly walked away from Ranma and over to where Akane and the others stood.  
"Man, I can't wait to hear Ranma's explanation," Akane smiled a bit. She looked at the two girls, "I'm Akane. Akane Tendo,"  
"I'm Emiko Kusanagi," the ninja girl said, "Just call me Emiko,"  
"I'm Lina Inverse," the red haired girl said. She regarded Akane for a bit longer than what was expected. So she's the girl I saw in Ranma's memories, she thought to herself. She does seem like a nice person.  
Ranma and Ryoga continued to glare at each other.  
"Ya wanna fight? Bring it on?" Ranma taunted. He wanted to get this done and over with. However, he was a bit eager to actually fight. They hadn't fought in a long time and it would bring back some memories when they do. Also, he hadn't actually fought in a long time either.  
Ryoga smirked, "All right, you asked for it!"  
He charged forward and punched at Ranma's head, hoping to cave his face in. All he did was hit air for Ranma seemed to disappear right before Ryoga's very eyes.  
"W-where did he go?" Asuka's eyes widened. Ryoga retracted his hand and took a defensive posture. He stood there quietly for several moment before he turned around and punched at the empty area behind him right at head level.  
Ranma was sent crashing to the ground, sliding to a halt. He had intended to shoulder tackle Ryoga from behind, only to end up getting punched before he could actually tackle Ryoga. The momentum of Ranma running toward Ryoga and suddenly getting punched had caused Ranma to end up crashing to the ground while still moving forward, eventually sliding to a halt aften ten feet.  
Ryoga smirked, "Is that all you got?"  
Ranma got up, a bit surprised that Ryoga, had been able to hit him. He had felt no pain from the punch. Only his ego was hurt.  
He hopped onto his feet, "Damn, that was a rather good punch ya gave me there," He walked right up to Ryoga, who waited to counterattack whatever Ranma threw his way.  
"Let's see if you can counter the direct approach," Ranma grinned.  
He extended his hand forward and grabbed Ryoga by his throat, picking him up off his feet. Ryoga was a bit surprised at that kind of approach coming from Ranma. Didn't Ranma know that he should never try and take on Ryoga in actual close combat? That was Ryoga's best range because of his shear strength.  
Ryoga brought a hand up and closed it around the wrist of Ranma's outstretch arm. He gave it a good squeeze but was shocked when Ranma didn't flinch under the pressure being administered.  
Ranma laughed, "You're gonna hafta do better than that," He brought his hand forward with such force that Ryoga was sent flying bodily past the females and Shinji and into the house through the open back door. After a moment, Ryoga emerged from the house, laughing like a maniac, "You call that a punch? It felt like nothing!"  
"You're too stupid to know that it was supposed to hurt!" Ranma taunted.  
Ryoga and Ranma charged at each other.  
"Enough!" Akane said in a stern voice.  
The two of them came to a skidding halt, their fists only inches from each other's faces. They turned toward Akane.  
"That's enough fighting," she said, "The both of you have a lot of explaining to do. So, what I would want you to do is stop fighting and come in out of the rain,"  
"Fine," they both said reluctantly. They shot malice harbored glances at each other before following Akane into the house, everyond else doing the same.  
But before Ranma and the girls named Emiko and Lina entered the home, Ranma had pulled them off to the side.  
"Lina, Emiko, this is my world," he smiled, "This is my home, and for the time being, this will be your home,"  
Emiko and Lina looked at each other.  
He placed his hands on both of their shoulders, "C'mon, let's go in,"


End file.
